My entire life I have been surrounded by the middle class population containing mainly white families. I was raised in a town where most people had beds to sleep in and shirts to wear on their back. I was taught not to judge an individual by their wealth status, religion, race or ethnicity. However, I have never met anyone that was extremely different than me. As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said "Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective." The church that I have attended since birth consists of people who live comfortable lives. Our youth group representative received the news that the Evangelical Church of America, which consists of all the Lutheran churches in America, was holding their annual youth gathering during the summer of 2015. …show more content…
When I was asked what my summer plans were by various friends and family, I replied, “I am going to attend a youth gathering in Detroit.” The majority of responses I received were, “Be safe!” or “Why are even going to take the risk?” I ignored the comments and remained eager for this opportunity. Around the same time that my church received the news of this youth gathering, I had just found out that my parents were getting a divorce after twenty seven years of marriage. I had mixed feelings about this because my father and I never had a strong relationship. Partially due to the fact that he was an alcoholic who would lie in bed all day and not care how his actions affected his family. Little did I know, this would have a huge impact on my life. Soon after I found out, I had to leave the house I lived in my entire life and my family dynamic as I knew it would forever be changed. I was excited for this trip. I was excited to get away from home for a little bit and I was excited to get the chance to volunteer my time and help