The city; fast paced, tall buildings, and an abundance of people with places to go and things to do. But, there are also the people layering the city that our minds and busy schedules cause us to overlook, purposefully and accidentally: the homeless.

Tuesday, for me, was not what I would call a “picturesque” day. It consisted of waking up and leaving before sunrise, having to pay $20 for parking, and sitting in a dimly lit, old room for seven hours. Yes, it was the day I was summoned for jury duty. And, as my first time going, I, of course, wore my most “grown up” clothes to try to somehow and justify my belonging there (despite the fact that having my summons paper with me would be sufficient justification).

After hour four of sitting and waiting, we were released for a two-hour lunch— the only time when being outside of the building was encouraged. As being someone who can walk around, getting lost in any downtown city area alone without ever getting bored, that’s exactly what I did (and considering how directionally challenged I am, getting lost in a city isn’t very hard for me).

Walking beside the sky-scraping buildings, taking turn after turn, I would see at least two homeless people on every street. And though it breaks my heart to even try and fathom what their day to day lives are like, I always found myself clenching to my purse and darting my eyes the opposite direction as if I don’t make contact then they're not really there; supplementing my self-esteem and only subsiding theirs.

Thursday night, I realized how utterly insane I was for doing those things. All they were doing was sitting peacefully on the sidewalks— the only place to them that will never be taken away. They have just as much of a right to be on the sidewalk as me, you, and everyone else. So why do most categorize the homeless as bad, malicious people who are more susceptible to stealing your things than any other person on the street?

Why was my instinct to clench my purse and deflect my attention from them, a normal human being, to the gum stuck on the side of the road? I was being so protective of one of the many things that I have the privilege of owning, scared someone would take it, and yet they have so little and you never see them clenching their things as thousands of people walk aimlessly past them day by day.

I think people could learn a thing or two from them. Despite all of the hardships that they have gone through, they are still so grateful for every position they have. They find ways to survive with such little that they have. And, I even see some still able to put a smile on their faces. Maybe they are able to find these ways to survive, to live with such peace, because of the hardships they’ve had to endure.

Then, I go back to my home and see people on social media complaining about not getting the iPhone 7 when it first came out, or about how that one guy never called back, or, despite the fact that you’ve looked in the fridge about a 100 times, you conclude that there’s “no food in the house." Ridiculous and meaningless things that I, and so many other people I know, complain about on a day to day basis. But in reality, these things we complain about and expect to have are such privileges— it makes me feel so silly now to even think about whining when my mom isn’t making something I’m particularly craving to eat for dinner.

The saying, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going”, comes to mind when I think of the lives of the homeless and makes me think of how I, and everyone else, can take a page from their book.