July Journal Challenge

Day 31 -- Celebration

Right now I want to celebrate "these kids today." Specifically two young women.

Today a very young adult (16? 18?) who was is visiting Chicago with her girlfriends stopped en route to Millennium Park. On the busy corner of Michigan and Randolph sat a young man holding a sign that read: "Please help. When you have nothing, anything is a blessing. I SUCK AT LIFE." She said something to her girlfriends in their native tongue. The girls nodded, as if they were agreeing to wait for her. Then she opened her backpack and removed an unopened bottle of water, a box of crackers and an energy bar and gave it to the man. She was so matter of fact about her generosity toward a man many Chicagoans don't even see and it was very moving.

Then Tuesday, at the health club, a woman of about 21 or 22 came barreling into the lockerroom after her workout, furious. It seems some guy was trying to chat her up by bashing Hillary Clinton. "Don't even go there, I warned him!" She went on to say he asked her if she was "a feminist, as if it was a dirty word!" I loved two things about her: 1) she was in exquisite shape and probably could have broken him like a twig and 2) her passion.

In my heart I thank them both for giving me faith.