This post is not the normal blog fare, please pardon if you’re new!

Being someone who works with people, I’ve seen a lot of bad and I’ve seen a lot of good. Fortunately for me, the majority of my professional work has been with people who are either good, or struggle with ‘goodness’ due to issues outside of their control. It is a result of my own personal views and these validations that I believe that people are inherently good and other factors (be they environmental, social, chemical, biological, etc) step in and corrupt this.

I know many people (my husband included) hear this viewpoint and scoff. The world is full of horrible people who will rob you blind without a second thought, who have no care for anyone other than themselves, etc. This is true, but we don’t know their stories.

This weekend my car was robbed. I was fortunate enough to not be there when it happened and to have only had my purse and some gifts stolen. I was out jogging along the canal, and when I came back to my car, the small window on the rear passenger side door had been broken and my purse and the purses I was going to give my mom and sister were gone (they left an ugly one though!). No, I wasn’t in the best part of town, but I had (I thought) covered my purse sufficiently so as to not attract attention.

Even though I know I could have prevented the theft by not bringing my purse or putting it in the trunk, I felt violated. My faith in people that I have always held was briefly broken. How could someone steal from another person? How could someone steal from me, a person who pours their heart and life into helping those in need? Didn’t they know that I’ve listened to and helped people who felt they had nowhere left to go? Didn’t they realize that I have helped rape victims, abuse victims, neglect victims, suicidal people, confused people, at the end of their rope people, sick people and well people? How could they rob someone who is constantly defending their circumstances and calling for help and rehabilitation?

It made me realize again that not everyone has someone to talk to, someone who cares, someone to help them in a time of need. It made me realize that I and the majority of my clients are fortunate beyond words that we have families who care for us, who want the best for us, who tell us when we are right and when we are wrong. We have people who don’t condone theft or violence or the easy way out. It made me realize once again that especially in a city, even one as small and seemingly innocuous as Columbia, working with children who are in bad environments and labeled “at-risk” is hugely important. I wish I could have five of me. One to run my business, one to do advertising, one to work in nursing and hospice care, one to work with special needs, and one to work with these kids who need us.