Two Dollar Challenge

So, yesterday I decided to Beg.  

I had never begged before.  Probably because I had no reason to.

So, I carved out a sign saying “donations,” and I plopped myself down on campus walk near a flowed bed.  It was 1:30 in the afternoon.  Not much traffic.

People walked by. sometimes, they’d completely ignore me.  Sometimes they’d stare at me in awe.  Some just laughed, as if I were a spectacle.  My favorites were the people who tried hard to avert their gaze, but I could see one I staring at the sideshow freak who was me. They were ashamed to walk by, stare coldly at me, and donate nothing, so instead they feigned obliviousness.

 I had a cup I had scavenged and was previously using to drink from.  I just held it out silently for a while.  No alms.

So I took to a mantra that I repeated over and over.  ”Tired, poor, and hungry” I chanted as I shook my empty cup.  The first girl to come by stopped by me and asked me if I was doing two dollar a day challenge.  I did’t want to deny it, so I said yes.  She pulled out $2 from her wallet and put it in my cup, and silently walked away.  I was very grateful, and I said so.  But even more so I was astonished.  Very charitable girl.  

The next person gave me a penny.  

“That’s more like what I was expecting”, I said to myself. 

As classes got out, more people came by, and my palty cup began filling.  I was surprised by the amount I was getting.  I had to sadly inform many of my friends that they could not donate to me because they were not strangers.

I later found out, upon reading the rules more carefully, that i had to donate all the money (which had been a suspicion all along). 

After 40 minutes, i stopped.  I counted my cash.  I had amassed $8.38.  I was overjoyed.  I couldn’t believe it.  As many TDC  colleagues pointed out to me, I made, on average, better than most jobs pay for our age group.    

I donated the money to La Ceiba.  But instead of money, I myself got valuable experience, and a learned a great truth:

Homeless people must make bank