Living Large

As I read Jane Yoder's story, I couldn't help but to feel guilty. She grew up with nothing, yet she felt fortunate for what she did have. Yoder said, "We tell our boys: you have a black sweater, a white sweater, and a blue sweater. You can't wear ten sweaters at one, you can only wear one. What is this thing?...some of the people that I know have thirty blouses. Oh, my God, I have no desire to think where I'd hang them. For what? I can't even grasp it" (128). Yoder learned at a young age that she could live with the bare necessities. Although her life was difficult at times, she knew that she had enough to survive which was all that mattered. After reading about how mature this girl was under what some might consider to be "undesirable circumstances," I thought about the society in which we live today. Especially in our immediate area, we take so much for granted . I, for one, am most definitely guilty of having way too many clothes - for what? I can only wear one shirt at a time, so why do I have hundreds? Not only that, but we think nothing of throwing away tons of food. Everyday at lunch, I watch as people throw away almost an entire sandwich, or an apple that has had one bite taken out of it. However, when doing this, these people most likely don't stop to consider the fact that millions of other children are living with hunger all around the world. If we stopped being so greedy with our resources, millions of people could live more comfortable lives. In Peggy Terry's story, she explained the time when she stole a Christmas present from her church. She said, "It was Christmas of '35, just before my dad got his bonus. We didn't get anyhing for Christmas. I mean nothing. Not an orange, not an apple - nothing. I just felt so bad. I went to the church, to the children's program and I stole a Christmas package. . .Children shouldn't have to go around stealing. There's enough to give all of them everything they want, any time they want it" (146). Every little child cannot wait for Christmas. The excitement of knowing there will be presents waiting under the tree in the morning is overwhelming and often consumes a child's mind for days in advance. It was so pathetic to imagine this little girl stealing a present because her parents couldn't afford to give her one. Once again, our society tends to go overboard with giving presents. Instead of exchanging additional goods that we can easily live without each year, we could put a portion of that money toward giving less privileged children a present. Christmas is the happiest day of the year for many people, and every child deserves to experience this holiday magic. Our country seems to have gone from one extreme to another - from living with nothing to living in abundance. We must strive to find an even ground between the two in order to help others who are less fortunate to have a more enriched quality of life.