My Introduction to Beyond U

“Six months from now I’ll be paralyzed.”
I looked up from my book, right into the ice blue eyes of the man standing in front of me. There was no doubt that he was speaking to me, but I had no idea why.
“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.” What else do you say?
He shrugged, “They just keep giving me painkillers. Won’t help much when I can walk, or get around on my own though, will it?”
I shook my head. The man turned and walked away from me, head held high as he braced himself against the door before walking out into the cold.
Everyone needs a bit of a wake up call. A startling jolt of reality to bring them back from a world where nothing goes drastically wrong. I got mine sitting in The Working Center, waiting for my colleagues. And unlike what other people might claim, my wake up call was not a sudden realization that there are social injustices in the world. I have been well aware my entire life that there are starving children in third world countries and homeless people on the streets. The realization I came to was that every one of the people that walked through the doors of The Working Center had a story. And while the business-people and the shopkeepers snubbed them on King St., categorizing them as homeless, or poor, or “slow”, they were dying to tell their story to anyone willing to listen.
I’ll admit I’ve never been a really good listener. I drift in and out of conversations, and I would rather voice my own opinion than listen to someone else’s. But the Working Center is all about communication and interaction. It breaks you out of your comfort zone, and places you in a situation where you need to learn in order to make the interaction work. Whether you are making homemade paper and herbal teas or taking apart computers and bikes to recycle, you need to learn how to communicate and listen effectively. It’s all about discovering yourself, and understanding more about the people that you are working with.
As a student participating in the pilot program for Beyond U, I’m required to tell you about my experiences at the Working Center through blog entries on the SJU website. But the more I sit in The Queen Streets Common Café, the less I want to tell you about my experiences, and the more I want to tell the stories that I hear, and learn though during my time spent there.
I want to be able to show you that making a difference doesn’t mean giving up your precious time to sweat over food served to the homeless. It doesn’t even mean that you have to work at all. Sometimes, you just need to sit, and wait for someone to come to you with the story they are dying to share.