Many people are having the time of their life right now because it's summer! No school means no worries. For my summer vacation, I am visiting family in India. I am also doing some community service while I'm here to help out the people who aren't as fortunate as we are. India has one of the highest poverty rates and even though that's just a number, it makes it real when you see it in real life. India isn't the only place filled with poverty. These beaten-down neighborhoods filled with people who can't afford a better life are everywhere.

Of course, we know about it, we see and learn about it all the time. But do we really know how they live? In the late 1800s, America's working poor made up most of the population. An author named Jacob Riis wrote an interesting novel called How The Other Half Lives. In it, he shares heart wrenching stories and pictures on the harsh living conditions the poor live in. If you think that since we have developed a lot since then, those conditions have probably improved, then you're assuming wrong.

Many people still live in crowded and unsafe places. People don't have clothes and if they do, they have an extremely limited supply. Children don't get the education that they need and therefore can't earn the amount of money that they need in the future. There are little things that can help. We need to push for legislation to help reach out to these people because they are just like us.

However, the cruelty of the world is that money does control happiness and does make the world go 'round. Without money, they don't have a home, sufficient food, or an education. We can donate to local charities or just go out and volunteer. Spend some time with these amazing people. Money may control a lot of factors in today's world, but it doesn't control our personalities, and let me tell you personally that they have some of the best ones.