Today in the elevator, there was this kid, around 8-11, barefoot with an old, dirty, ripped up rag on his shoulder. I didn’t know who he was, I had never seen him in the neighborhood before. He was on the elevator with me and got off at the same floor. On the way up, though, he kept scratching his feet. I couldn’t help but notice how calloused they sounded, and that he had numerous red marks on his legs. Bug bites? I don’t know if was homeless or poor or orphaned. But the fact that he had no shoes really struck me. I felt so fortunate. I found this while staring at the floor, trying to avoid eye contact. I was looking down at my shoes, brown Crocs with charms on them.

When back at my house, I told my mom, and she left to check it out. When she arrived quickly, I asked her what happened. She replied, that he was a friend of Jake’s, a neighbor down the hall.
That left me pondering…