Sometimes I Doubt

There are times when I doubt if blogging has really been worth my time and effort - and then I get an email like this, and I no longer doubt. In fact I feel encouraged, and feel hopeful for the future.

Mr. Barbieux,

Like the subject of this email says, this message is a long time coming. I probably should have written it earlier, but either way, I just wanted to let you know how much of an impact your blog has had on my life as a whole.

I began reading your blog about two years ago when I saw an article about it on the Wired website (I'm pretty sure that's what it was). I spent that summer reading through the archives and everything, just soaking in information. Homelessness has always been a subject that intrigued me. Being part of an immigrant family, my parents always told me they moved to the US because the opportunities are endless here, so, especially as a little kid on trips to New York, it confused me to see people out on the street. In any case, when I first found your site, I was going to be a sophomore, majoring in Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University. I had plans to eventually work for Lockheed Martin, where I was interning at the time, and one day become an astronaut. Your blog had a hand in drastically changing that.

As the following semester progressed, I started to dislike my engineering work more and more. I didn't really take any joy in doing all the math and physics problems and by the end of those three months, I knew that I wouldn't be able to pursue a career in this field and be happy. So I began to question, over and over, what it was that would make me happy, and everytime I came up with the idea of helping people. Still, I ended up changing my major to Business Management and Marketing. Like Aerospace Engineering, this didn't work out, mainly because I couldn't see myself being happy with it for the rest of my life.

Which brings me to now- I'm majoring in Political Science, hoping to go to Law School in about a year. From there I want to be able to, well, help people. Specifically (and I know this is a lofty goal), I want to see the day that the homeless folks in New Orleans don't have to worry about having a safe, private place to stay. I want to see different options and avenues open to them to make sure that they have a roof over their heads. In addition to my internship with Lockheed, I'm currently in contact with a group called Stand Up for Kids, who are dedicated with reaching out to homeless kids to get them off the streets.

So anyway, I just wanted to thank you for the new perspective your blog has given me and really encourage you to keep going. You're doing something great.

H.F.