Hunger in Dental School
The summer session of my freshman year… in dental school I ran out of money. I had money in a savings account back home, but in those analog, pre-digital days it took a lot more than a click of a button to transfer money. I had to call home and request a check be mailed to me. The details have gotten fuzzy over the years, but something held that check up for over two weeks. During those two weeks the only thing I had in my apartment was a very small bag of dried peas. Literally the only food I had. No bread. No milk. No eggs. No flour. Nothing but that small bag of dried peas. I stretched those peas out as best I could. I remember being so hungry it was difficult to think of anything else.
Hoping for Help
I remember going to church on Sunday morning and hoping against hope that someone would invite me to lunch. No one did. I never told anyone of my hunger. Too proud or too stupid, I'm not sure which. I doubt any of my classmates even knew of my struggle. The longer it took for the check to arrive, the more desperate I became. When the money finally arrived, a giddy and profound sense of relief washed over me. The first thing I did was go get a good meal. Somehow I made it through and even managed to do well in my classes, but not without consequences. I got quite sick and lethargic after that session of summer classes and it took me the rest of the summer to recover.
We're Fighting Hunger and How You Can Help
If you have never experienced real hunger, it may be difficult to understand. If you have, then you know very well what I'm talking about. Nearly every thought is consumed with wondering where the next meal will come from. Desperation begins to set in. It becomes difficult to think or do much of anything as your energy level plummets. I would wish that no one ever experience that kind of hunger. I am very excited about supporting the Red Nose Day campaign to end childhood hunger. There are kids right here in Garden City that are hungry, and summer is a very uncertain time for them as there are not school lunch programs to depend on. There are kids around the globe that go to bed hungry every night. That's not right. If you and I can make even a little difference, shouldn't we? Please, I implore you, join us in the fight against hunger.
This week, our office will be donating $1 to the non-profit Comic Relief to fight child poverty and hunger for every selfie posted on Facebook with this added: #rednose17gc. Or you can visit rednoseday.org to learn more about how you can help fight children experiencing hunger.
Thank you so much for reading this week's blog.
Top image by Unsplash user Madi Robison used under the Unsplash License. Image modified from original.
