Recently I’ve discovered the high cost of living. As I watch my savings from working all summer dwindle before I’ve even started school, I realize how much food, toilet paper, and other basic essentials actually add up. In the past few weeks, I’ve become extremely aware of every purchase I make and evaluate it’s level of priority (and in case you were wondering, coffee still falls into the “essential” category for me). With this in mind, I was running into the store today to get some milk (who knew almond milk was almost $4?!) when I passed this woman sitting outside of the store with a sign that read “Have children, need food. God bless”. Now, I live in a place where homelessness and poverty are not uncommon and I usually walk past these people with a sick feeling in my gut and telling myself “You can give them money, who knows what they’re going to spend it on- just keep walking”. But this lady reminded me of a woman I worked with over the summer cleaning houses, so I stopped. She told me that she needed food for her family and could she come shopping with me? I said yes and we proceeded into the store. She told me about her kids and how she was laid off. She asked me if I had children. I said “No, but I’m somebody’s daughter”. She was very price conscious and asked me before she put things into the basket if it was too much. We checked out and she thanked me and told me she would pray for me. Then she picked up her groceries and began schlepping them to the bus stop. I got in my car with my carton of milk. I’ve never spent a more worthwhile $45 in my life.
The Importance of Sunscreen 