These last few months I haven't written a lot here. There honestly hasn't been a lot to say. I've been living with friends and family since March and I've been back at a normal job since April. Life was about as normal as it gets, with the exception of a place all my own to live.
On Monday, November 21st, I moved into my first apartment since July 25, 2010. It was a crazy year and a bit that I will always remember and hold close to my heart. It was a learning experience, a chance to see some of America's greatest cities from a point of view we so seldom really get to see and one of the best things I've done in my life. I loved it, hated it, miss it and am so glad it's over.
I've settled down for the moment in Orem, Utah with a full-time job doing janitorial work for thirteen office buildings, writing for a recently established online magazine in the area and working at writing a few books in my free time. I feel blessed by the support I've seen while I've been writing this and for all the people who have shared my adventures with me.
And now, I'm officially closing the blog portion of this adventure. As I said in my last post I am working on writing a book about what was going on in my life to inspire each post through out the life of this blog. It's great to look back at the time I spent living life without the basic necessities we take so much for granted and to remember that so many times I saw more caring, camaraderie and sense of community in the people who are usually looked down upon by the general public.
There have been a hand full of people in the past few months who have wanted me to tell them about how all homeless people are junkies, lazy, alcoholics with no souls or families who love them. I can't and will never do that. There are people with addiction problems. There are some who will steal from you if given the chance. There are even people who would kill another person. But I feel that in the general population of the world, there are more people per capita with addiction, kleptomania and murderous impulses with more normal living situations. More than anything, I saw normal people down on their luck. Sometimes it was a consequence to their own actions. Sometimes it was through no fault of their own.
I kept in contact with two people I met along the way. They both are off the streets and working. I know that if I went back to the same places I spent so much of my time, I'd see some of the same people, but I also know that a larger percentage have left that chapter of their lives behind. That's a good thought.
