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Patience
is key to good semester As the semester progresses, classes will become tougher and we will no longer be able to enjoy as much fun. My advice for all of you is patience. Whether you are working with others, studying or just in general, always remember to keep your cool and have patience. This will always take you far and keep you out of sticky situations. This advice stems from an experience I encountered Wednesday, January 26. It had been a good day on campus, and I was ready to do my part for the community by helping at a local soup kitchen in Columbia, Mo. There were six of us going from my local church to serve food to anyone who walked through the door at the soup kitchen. Our first problem occurred when we got there late. We were greeted at the soup kitchen by a small army of heavily clothed men who were ready to come into the warmth of the building and eat. Wait a second; they were more likely ready to aggravate us to no end because we wouldn’t allow them to come in right away. From the moment we arrived until we allowed the first person in, they banged on the door, scratched at the windows and called through the night to let them in, they were cold. This is a very eerie situation and when people behave like this in a run down neighborhood in Columbia, one is bound to not be comfortable. Our problems did not stop there. The food we brought was frozen and had to be thawed before it would cook. Just for the record, I hate frozen hot dogs and hope that I never have to cook them at a soup kitchen again. Finally, a little after 5 p.m. we let them in. They clamored into the small space that was the dining area and complained about how cold they were. Now this would have been a good time for someone who had already lost their cool to go out into the dinning room and give those people a piece of their mind. How dare they be ungrateful! But patience prevailed for the six volunteers, and we quickly started to disperse the food that we had cooked. About a half an hour into the meal, a young woman who looked like a student but was enjoying a free meal that my group was providing, entered the kitchen area and started to give us a piece of her mind. She yelled at us for allowing our dinner guests to stand in the cold while we were in the warm building cooking food. She said it was ridiculous and unjust to make them stand in the cold when they spend most of their time outside. She continued to accuse and assume that we didn’t know what it was like to be constantly cold. She went on and on about the injustices we had committed while loud clapping and encouragement came from the dinning room. I was doing dishes while this happened and it took all of my resolve not to yell back at her. I knew it was a bad idea to start an argument in my current situation. I had no idea if there were weapons in the building, and I care more about my safety than putting someone in their place. So I stood there and listened and continued to scrap dishes. I could have complained about the injustice of having to wash the dirty dishes of fifty other people whom I didn’t even know. But who would have cared compared to the injustice of having to stand in the cold. After she left, many came back to apologize for that one woman’s speech. They really were grateful that we had come. This helped the situation and the night went on without another incident. I would like to point out that every person who complained about being cold, and there were many of them, did not stay the whole time we were open to enjoy the warmth of the dining room. If one must complain, complain when there is real reason to complain, not to speed up the process of getting inside a building to harass the people inside. When the evening was over, I went home. It was then that I vented a little. Venting will help your peace of mind. But I would like to suggest that if venting is necessary, wait until you can do it in private or with someone who was not involved with the event. Good luck with the semester and remember, patience is key.
© 2005 CAFNR Corner Post |
