I believe everyday experiences can change a person if they are open to seeing in a new way. Just recently, a homeless man came up to the skate park while I was there. The man was dancing around and smiling, which made me smile. When I looked around though everyone was pointing and laughing. When the old man sat down and started talking, people would make jokes, take his stuff and then throw it at him. It was hurting me to see people treating another person like that. Eventually, the old man came up to and started talking to me.

Everyone around me was talking about him; I just listened to what he had to say. He told me about his sons and how he made bad choices in life. He asked me to listen to my elders because there is always something to learn from them. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a plastic baggy. It was full of trash he had collected. He explained to me how it was a puzzle. He pointed out the different colors telling me what they meant. After explaining all that was in the bag he handed it to me. I didn't know what to do, so I just held onto it.

After just sitting next to him for a while, I told him I needed to to talk to someone. When we said 'bye and I walked over to my friends. They asked me what he said; I couldn't really answer them. They didn't really care, they only wanted to twist his words to continue making fun of him.

My friends couldn't understand why I stayed and talked to him. The whole time I was thinking of the Golden Rule, “Love thy Neighbor as thy Self.” I just sat there and talked. It didn't hurt me to listen to what he had to say. A lot of my friends kept making fun of him, even after he left. I think they made fun of him because of their own insecurities. It is easier to make yourself feel better by tearing others down than it is to reach out and help another person.

I left the park that day thinking about the old man. If everyone in the world were that friendly, life would be so much more peaceful. I want to be like that. When I come across people who I wouldn't normally talk to, I talk to them. I want to know them. Each person on this planet has something to teach me. And who knows we may turn out to be great friends.

I posted this essay here because as I read it I thought about all the different reasons parents tell me they homeschool. This essay is exactly why I homeschooled! While reading it I went through a whole series of emotions. But mostly I was scared (I didn't know she had this encounter) and I was proud (she treated another human being with kindness and compassion).

I have always said you "know" when they are ready for college and I think this essay shows a confident young woman who is ready to face and engage the world on her own terms. I will miss her, probably even more than I miss Kayleigh. Athena has a calmness about her that soothes anyone in her presence!