The day before my friend Alex and I went to volunteer at the local soup kitchen, I was sort of scared. I have never been to a soup kitchen before and I didn't know how to cook well. Plus, I overestimated the people we were serving. Don't get me wrong, I was very excited since I love to help out and all, but usually when you think of a soup kitchen, you think of a person serving soup to homeless people. I was mistaken.


First, I found out that when you volunteer in a soup kitchen, you are in an actual kitchen with other adults and it isn't always soup that you are cooking. We made hot dogs and had cookies and chips. Also, we served lemonade as refreshments. Plus, students usually don't cook and just make the plates and set tables. Since Alex was fourteen and I was thirteen, we weren't allowed out into the dinner area while the people were eating.



Second, The people there weren't all homeless. When I told my friends that Alex and I were volunteering at the soup kitchen, they all said that we had to serve dirty, homeless people and that had me scared. Sure, some of the people were homeless but a lot weren't. We overheard a woman talking to one of the cooks that she just came home from work and couldn't wait to get here to eat. She had a full family there, husband, two sons and two daughters. I never realized that even families with homes and jobs sometimes still couldn't afford food to eat at night. It changed my prospective on the average person. Usually, the kids at my school have a mother and a father, a nice home, nice clothes and have money to eat a lot. But, some families living in Phoenix weren't always as lucky as us.



Lastly, I learned so much that night. I grew to respect those who weren't as fortunate as us and that helping out the needy feels great! I wish more students would take there time away from the video game or the T.V. and would help out at the soup kitchen or any other charity drive. It's a wonderful learning experience and can even be fun! Alex and I still talk about it and pretty soon; we're going to go back. I wonder what we'll be serving this time?