I don’t personally have an experience of being homeless, but I’ve seen plenty of homeless people in New York City. It seems like a fact of life for New Yorkers to see the homeless out on the streets and in the subway.

There’s been countless times wherein I would be sitting in the train and a person would enter through the train’s doors and announce that they’re homeless and need help. Most of them ask for money, as well as food and drink to help them last through the day and support their families. They ask for anything, a quarter, a nickel, a dime, and say that any amount of money would help them. However, there have been times in the past when some homeless people would say that exact same phrase and I would choose to give some loose change to them, but they would give me a look and refuse to take the change. Nowadays, I rarely give money to homeless people when they ask on trains. Instead, on the rare occasions when I have food, I give that to them. Many other commuters sitting on the train simply avert their eyes and ignore them, and I usually do the same. I focus my attention to my smartphone and try to think of happier things instead of the bleak reality.