Every day we are faced with a new challenge. It can be as simple as waking up on the wrong side of the bed knowing you have to give it your all that day. Or as bad as realizing you have lost important parts of your life.
My mom, a wise woman, who has put up a smile every single day of her life has always given me one piece of advice that never gets old. She says “Todo tiene solucion menos la muerte.” Or “Everything has a solution except death.” This advice has gotten me through hard times.
I wake up each day lucky to be going to Alexandria House, a transition home for homeless women and homeless women with children. I never know what kind of day it will be. I don’t know what will arise. I don’t know what mistake I will make or what success I will have. What I do know is that I choose to smile and stay positive. That is not to say that I always am because as an individual I face my own challenges but when I am at Alexandria House I focus on the needs there.
The individuals that go to Alexandria House come from all walks of life. They each have their stories with their own obstacles yet they are choosing to keep fighting. They are looking for a solution even when the light at the end of the tunnel seams too far. These beautiful people are some of the strongest I have ever encountered. The people at Alexandria House are fighting to find their happiness, a happiness only they can achieve and we are merely a vessel to help them get there. They say the creator will never give you more than you can handle even when it seems like it’s too much. Most people I have met can tell you that it seems like they are trusted with too much more often than not.
We each have the choice to find a solution to what we face and realize that there are people out there willing to help you find that solution. While there are people who will not help, there are twice as many who would be willing to help. I can testify to this because every day that I wake up I see my housemates, who like me through the St. Joseph Worker Program, go to jobs just as rewarding and challenging as mine. I get to work and see our office full of people working to help those we serve. I get to see and refer people to other organizations working just as hard as us to find solutions to the problems we see in society.
Yajaira-SJW 2015-2017
St. Joseph Worker Program- West Coast 