Thus far, most of the reading we have done has been personal accounts of either hunger, homelessness or both. I have come to believe that in order to truly gain an understanding of these issues, we must learn of the issues from the people that live them every day.

In class yesterday, a fellow student brought up the idea of hope and that in reading the stories, noted that many of the authors had difficulties holding on to hope. Whether it be hope for the future, hope for some immediate relief, it seemed that many of these people in the stories simply had no hope left, as they had been repeatedly knocked down.

As I thought about the subject of hope more, I began to think of the children in the stories, and wondered if their attitudes were and are different. Maybe the kids aren’t as pessimistic about the future because they have yet to have or realize the same struggles as the adults have. I want to believe that the kids do have hope, and that their parents still hold out hope for their children. That the children’s lives will be bettered and that there is a way to break the so called “cycle” of poverty.

To hear the stories of how children are affected by the extreme conditions that they live in can be disheartening. At this point in the semester, I don’t have a complete understanding of what kids in poverty undergo on a daily basis, however, I am hoping by the end of the semester to further understand the issues and limitations of children in poverty situations.