Experiences that help you grow as a person

Experiences that help you grow as a person:
-Amy Nielsen
Working in the AIDS program has been one of the best experiences I have undergone. Prior to my employment there, even though I don’t like to admit it, I was pretty judgmental toward the gay and homeless population.  In fact whenever a homeless person would ask me for money I would get a bit upset and rude, like, “here I am working two jobs to put myself through college, and you have the nerve… “
Anyway… I worked with an AIDS and HCV (Hepatitis-C) positive homosexual man named Buck, an AIDS and HCV positive woman named Lois, another AIDS positive gay man named Jamie, and an HIV and HCV positive man named Bull (whom had previously been incarcerated at San Quentin…)  I was pretty intimidated at first.  First of all I had never been surrounded by such diversity, second I did not know too much about the viruses that they carried, and third…SAN QUENTIN. Is that not a maximum security prison?
As I am not one to close up and not get to know someone I took the opportunity to ask these folks about their lives (after I had discovered they were MORE than willing to share… J)  After getting to know them, I discovered that YES they messed up when they were younger and YES they are suffering the consequences, but they are truly magnificent kind and caring people that worked hard to get where they are at.  Even though it is just clean and sober and not some other accomplishment.  Most of them had crazy horrible childhoods and look at them now…volunteering for this program so that they might help others that came to find themselves in tough situations.  “Others” that will listen to my coworkers as they have been there, they KNOW what this person is going through and that helps immensely. And when it comes to Bull…, remember San Quentin?  Very nice man.   
As far as the homeless person thing is concerned we tested our fair share of them.  Plenty came in hoping for some incentive to test.  After getting to converse with these upstanding citizens (as the front desk person) I have come to find that many of them are truly insane…I mean for real.  And that there is a major problem with programs to help them in California and these are the type that cannot just go get a job at MacDonald’s.  Sure, there are tons of lazy homeless people that would rather sit on a street and float through life without getting a job, but just keep in mind that there are others who grab a pencil off of your front desk, think it is a hot dog with mustard on it, and try to eat it…..  
That last statement happened for real…right in front of my eyes.  
I wish that we all could have this opportunity.  To be surrounded by people who have come from not so nice childhoods and that were dealt very different hands at life.  Or just people who make different decisions than we sometimes think they should make and support and try to understand.  I think it would make us all just a bit less judgmental.