This morning we had to wake up at 6 and be at GLIDE by 7. I was easily motivated to get out of bed this morning to serve other people because I knew it was a great cause, however I had no idea what to expect. We had been at GLIDE the day before serving people behind the scenes and I knew that we were making an impact, but it was hard for me to grasp the fact that I really was making a difference because this type of service was different from any type that I had done before. There was a lot of standing around and waking up while putting on our hair nets, making our name tags, and putting our aprons on. Our group slowly started veering off into different jobs and myself and about four others of our group were left waiting for a job.
As I was observing my surroundings of this place called GLIDE, I was thinking so many different things. Are the volunteers sincerely wanting to be here? Are the workers loving what they do, or do they dread coming to work. Who's facing a struggle outside of this place and they are still present even though their life may be miserable? I just was asking myself all of these questions. GLIDE this morning really made me reevaluate my life and put things into perspective not only for myself, but for everyone and everything around me.
So our job ended up being bussing tables. We had to take peoples trays, refill the coffee, water, and milk etc. I could barely hear what the man was saying as we were being given directions but the first thing I really recognized was that the water and the milk were both in large garbage bins that were white. We had to scoop up the drinks with a big pan and put them in the pitcher to refill them, and to me I thought that was really unsanitary considering we were serving food to people who already had very little. I understand that we were helping them and what not, but I feel as though GLIDE overall could have been A LOT more clean of an environment so that for these people coming here would be a breathe of fresh air even if it was only for a little while, and for some it was! But, for others it seemed extremely stressful and maybe even frustrating and irritating noticing peoples emotions toward myself and others around me. The man directing us also made it crucial to our attention that we need to ask each person if we can fill up their pitchers, or take their trays because people tend to get angry and what not. Hearing that for me was a complete surprise because I feel like people would be extremely grateful and want nothing but our help, then again that is my naive self talking because I am not accustomed to this lifestyle completely, even remotely.
While serving people I got really mixed reactions for my volunteer work. I was harassed three or four times the first hour and a half and that really made my experience extremely negative and at a point I wanted to take a break and just break down because I felt so defeated. coming to a place to help and serve people I feel should be a positive experience because I myself and the group are making an impact on peoples lives, and for people to disrespect me like that made me revaluate why I serve, why I help, and why I love it so much. While feeling negativity and sadness about this fact, I served a man and he stared at me for a good minute and we locked eyes for thirty seconds or so. Our eye contact was kind, and light and I could tell that he wanted to say something, so I waited. His face became stern and his eyes widened, and he said "Your mom and dad would be proud of you." His smile started slowly and by the end of his ten second smile emerging from his crooked, yellow teeth, I immediately hugged him and felt like my mom or dad were literally talking through him at that moment. After that instance with that man I took his tray to the wash bin and turned around and he and he had left. I wish I could have spoken to him more because we had a connection even if it was for that quick minute we spoke and exchanged a few words.
I tried sincerely this morning at GLIDE to give every single person I served a genuine, loving smile. I also made the effort to make sure to let everyone know to have a GOOD day. One man in particular was not having my words, or my smile. I looked at him because he looked angry, and I thought that maybe if I smiled at him it would make him think a little bit and my good vibes would rub off on him, but when I did he said, "Don't fuckin smile at me girl" and that also happened to Kavi as well with the same man. That comment to me frustrated me a lot because while I am making an effort to be sincere and kind to everyone at GLIDE I get remarks like that. I put things into perspective though and thought about maybe what he was going through or the thoughts that were running through his head and I shrugged my shoulders and let it go. Because literally two minutes later I served a man milk and he told me that I had such a beautiful smile over and over again and thanked me immensely for the work that I was doing for GLIDE and the people there. That was really nice to hear because that was the only positive comment I really heard this morning and he made an impact on me and gave me inspiration to overcome negative situations even if they are hard as hell to face, and that I need to CONSTANTLY be moving forward and looking for the GOOD in people even if they put up a front.
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