Guess

In my world, people talk and forget to listen. We often do not care about the stories of others and whether or not someone needs help. I became aware of this on my first day as an intern at an organization called Project Take Charge.
It was a blazing hot summer day and instead of allowing me to relax down at Avondale Pool, my mom was forcing me to go do some “volunteer” work. Cliff Richards, a family friend, picked me up for lunch. He asked me if I knew anything about Decatur Cooperative Ministry; I rolled my eyes and said “no.” “DCM is an organization that helps the homeless,” he explained. “There are 3 branches: Initiative for Affordable Housing, Hagar’s House and Project Take Charge. They each do different things but they all have one goal: to prevent homelessness.” I would be working with Cliff at Project Take Charge.
After lunch, we headed back to Cliff’s office which was located in a vacant church without air conditioning. The windows were painted shut. I felt trapped and irritated because I did not want to be spending my day in a stuffy old building. Cliff began talking to me about homelessness all over the world. I could not help but slightly tune him out. What he had to say was interesting, but I honestly did not want to be doing volunteer work; sitting in a boiling hot room did not beat swimming with my friends. As I learned more about the organization, however, curiosity slowly replaced my irritation. I began to wonder how this whole operation worked.
He led me over to a desk that was really messy; it reminded me of my room. Underneath all the papers was a huge calendar that had the days that volunteers came to help. I became overwhelmed by all the binders that were scattered across the desk. They were filled with names and numbers of people needing help. When Cliff told me I was to schedule appointments, my heart began to pound; I hate talking on the phone to strangers. He explained I was to listen to the messages on the answering machine. Before I could start, though, I had to unplug the phone because it was constantly ringing. Everyone had an emergency. I listened to the messages and wrote down the clients’ names, their needs and their telephone numbers. Within two hours, I had listened to 60 messages and had returned calls to about 30 people. My productivity and organization surprised me; I had never gotten this much work done before.
A couple of the messages upset me because the callers were crying. Other calls were difficult to understand due to the poor quality of the speaker. After I scheduled two appointments, I heard the door bell ring. I looked at Cliff and he told me it was probably a client. He said I could sit in on the meeting, but he would have to ask her first. I heard Cliff greet the person at the door with a hearty hello. I started to feel nervous again because I did not know what to expect. Cliff told me that the client said I could sit in the meeting and he wanted me to take her to the conference room. I saw her and smiled; she reciprocated. I relaxed a bit. She was probably more nervous than I was and probably ashamed to be asking for help. I imagine she was petrified.
We went to the conference room and she asked me some questions. I told her I was going to be in the 12th grade. She told me that was a good year and then asked me if I was going to college. When I said yes, she said, “Good.” Cliff then came in and asked her questions. The final question was “Why are you here today?” She launched into her story. She had an abusive boyfriend so she moved to Georgia and met another man. She moved in with him but things were not going well. He spent his paychecks on alcohol and did not leave any money for her or groceries. She was trying to find a job and was going to a business class but she was out of money. I felt very sad for her. She had barely anything, and I had all I needed. I realized I had been taking it all for granted. She started crying, then hugged me and said “thank you.” I was confused because I did not think I had done anything. After she left, I asked Cliff why she had thanked me, and he told me it was because I had listened. I had not solved her problems, but I had listened to her story. Now instead of talking, I try to listen. I still like to talk, but that day taught me to be more mindful of others. I learned that listening is a powerful skill.
If I could change anything about my world, I would make people acknowledge what others have to say. Even though listening is a simple act, it is what makes people feel important and loved. As I headed home that afternoon, I realized that some things are better than swimming after-all.