lolwut
15-10-2007, 08:52 PM
Right well I wrote this essay on Homelessness based on the novel Stone Cold, for my English homework.
My english teacher said it was GCSE+ standard (I'm currently in Year 9).
Words: 1130.
Guide to being Homeless
So, you want to become a homeless person, that's not good, you shouldn't even consider it. However bad you think your current home life situation is, being homeless is about a million times worse than it. Believe me, it's so hard to have no money, no where to sleep, no roof over your head. When you've got a home, keep it. You don't realise how much luckier you are than the real homeless people. The ones that'd give an arm and/or a leg for a place to stay one night. You don't have to give as much as a fragment of a fingernail for a year of a roof over your head, a bed and food. Sit back and listen, if you want to run away from home, I guarantee you wont want to when you've read this.
Oh, where to begin, the dangers, sleeping, sanity, hygeine, pain. Dangers. We'll start there, if you think that the worst thing about being homeless is having to find a place to doss for the night, then your way wrong. If your worried about freezing your feet off, then your wrong, but not far off. If your worried about being slashed up by some drunks or having another dosser steal your roll and money, you have the right idea, that's got to be the worst thing that can happen, being injured. Badly, obviously. Little injuries happen all the time. Some of us sleep with knives, but their only the people who managed to steal it of someone else, usually. Some nights, when your in your doorway, you'll hear some other dosser come up to you and stand over you, then, if they feel like it, they'll kick your head in and steal your roll and all. Best possible thing to do, is hang around in groups, you're less likely to be attacked by some maniac that way, but your still vunerable, you always are.
Now onto sleeping, this is what most people see as the hardest part of being a dosser, if you think that, then your so wrong. It's probably one of the easiest, the harder bits consist of money and hygeine and keeping your sanity. This is simple, find a doorway or a alcove, spread your bedroll, drop off? No, it's not just like that. Try not to forget, you're in London (probably). This means there's gonna be other dossers after the same spot as you, but, there is some justice to the system, once someone's settled in a place, it's not up for anyone else. Ever. So, the best thing you can do is spend a few hours looking for good spots, maybe something like a museum doorway, or a sheltered alcove set back from the street. Then stick there. Until whenever you feel like it, you'd wriggle into your roll, and try to drop off. That's not easy. If you don't believe me, try sleeping on your patio in your back garden, you won't be able to sleep, I guarantee. Or if you do, when you wake up you'll be covered in bruises, absolutley covered. And you have to walk all day, and try to get some of the punters change. Every day. All day. Not what you'd want to do out of choice.
Moving swiftly onto sanity, something, which after being homeless for a few weeks, you'll wonder if you've still got. You have no idea how down it makes you feel to want a girlfriend, and have no chance atall with any girl, because you stink, and you look terrible (it's true, try sleeping on a stone floor, you won't look so preety if you manage it). You've got no idea how bored you are when you've finally managed to get your roll down after a hard day of begging. And all the food you get, well, what food? You get something like one full meal overall, because you have to buy it. Everyone does. No sympathy for the dossers. You'll be sitting there, starved to death, bored as hell, trying to drop off. God knows, you won't manage it. You will always get bruises, even if you've got a roll under your bag. And no matter how hard you try, there always there. One thing you can do to help preserve your sanity, is try not to think about your family. That's all there is really. Just try.
Hygeine, that's one thing you think your fine with for a few weeks, then you start getting stinkier, because you haven't got any other clothes to wear, you try it, keep the clothes on for 2 weeks, you'll start to know how it feels to be a dosser, and have to wear the same clothes for years maybe. Until you get something from a bin or something similar. You will, I guarantee, wonder how you managed to smell that bad so quickly. But it happens, and it always will, you're gonna stink like that all the time, and it's never going to get better, only worse. If you ever get a chance for a shower, take it, you shouldn't even need to think, just get in there, you'll be so glad you did afterwards, you'll feel cleaner, but not much because you've got to put the same clothes back on, but all the same, your cleaner. Remember, every little bit will help you out in the long run. I'll include pain into this, as it fits in, sort of. The pain you'll get is mostly from the bruises you'll collect from sleeping, but that's only the phsyical pain, there's loads of emotional pain, like having to wake up and realising there's nothing to do except sit there and hope someone's gonna give you enough change to buy something remotely decent to eat, and you've got to sit in a doorway for hours trying to get some sleep, which you won't manage to do for ages. But, if you do, then there's tommorow, which is exacly the same as what you sat through today. Oh, and having everyone look down on you, doesn't help one little bit. It's probably the worst, havng to sit there, knowing they've got a roof over their head, and money to burn, and a bed, and you've got none of it. Worst. Thing. Ever.
Final conclusion here, don't bother running away from home, no matter what your home life is like, exacly the same as what I said above, at the start. The life of a dosser, is so much worse. Having to sleep on the street, no money. No nothing infact. So please people, don't even think about running away, my advice is stick it out until you can leave home and move in with your friend or partner. Homelessness is worse.
Edd Adams, 9 Orange. Words: 1130.
Thanks for reading, if you did, COMMENT PLEASE.
My english teacher said it was GCSE+ standard (I'm currently in Year 9).
Words: 1130.
Guide to being Homeless
So, you want to become a homeless person, that's not good, you shouldn't even consider it. However bad you think your current home life situation is, being homeless is about a million times worse than it. Believe me, it's so hard to have no money, no where to sleep, no roof over your head. When you've got a home, keep it. You don't realise how much luckier you are than the real homeless people. The ones that'd give an arm and/or a leg for a place to stay one night. You don't have to give as much as a fragment of a fingernail for a year of a roof over your head, a bed and food. Sit back and listen, if you want to run away from home, I guarantee you wont want to when you've read this.
Oh, where to begin, the dangers, sleeping, sanity, hygeine, pain. Dangers. We'll start there, if you think that the worst thing about being homeless is having to find a place to doss for the night, then your way wrong. If your worried about freezing your feet off, then your wrong, but not far off. If your worried about being slashed up by some drunks or having another dosser steal your roll and money, you have the right idea, that's got to be the worst thing that can happen, being injured. Badly, obviously. Little injuries happen all the time. Some of us sleep with knives, but their only the people who managed to steal it of someone else, usually. Some nights, when your in your doorway, you'll hear some other dosser come up to you and stand over you, then, if they feel like it, they'll kick your head in and steal your roll and all. Best possible thing to do, is hang around in groups, you're less likely to be attacked by some maniac that way, but your still vunerable, you always are.
Now onto sleeping, this is what most people see as the hardest part of being a dosser, if you think that, then your so wrong. It's probably one of the easiest, the harder bits consist of money and hygeine and keeping your sanity. This is simple, find a doorway or a alcove, spread your bedroll, drop off? No, it's not just like that. Try not to forget, you're in London (probably). This means there's gonna be other dossers after the same spot as you, but, there is some justice to the system, once someone's settled in a place, it's not up for anyone else. Ever. So, the best thing you can do is spend a few hours looking for good spots, maybe something like a museum doorway, or a sheltered alcove set back from the street. Then stick there. Until whenever you feel like it, you'd wriggle into your roll, and try to drop off. That's not easy. If you don't believe me, try sleeping on your patio in your back garden, you won't be able to sleep, I guarantee. Or if you do, when you wake up you'll be covered in bruises, absolutley covered. And you have to walk all day, and try to get some of the punters change. Every day. All day. Not what you'd want to do out of choice.
Moving swiftly onto sanity, something, which after being homeless for a few weeks, you'll wonder if you've still got. You have no idea how down it makes you feel to want a girlfriend, and have no chance atall with any girl, because you stink, and you look terrible (it's true, try sleeping on a stone floor, you won't look so preety if you manage it). You've got no idea how bored you are when you've finally managed to get your roll down after a hard day of begging. And all the food you get, well, what food? You get something like one full meal overall, because you have to buy it. Everyone does. No sympathy for the dossers. You'll be sitting there, starved to death, bored as hell, trying to drop off. God knows, you won't manage it. You will always get bruises, even if you've got a roll under your bag. And no matter how hard you try, there always there. One thing you can do to help preserve your sanity, is try not to think about your family. That's all there is really. Just try.
Hygeine, that's one thing you think your fine with for a few weeks, then you start getting stinkier, because you haven't got any other clothes to wear, you try it, keep the clothes on for 2 weeks, you'll start to know how it feels to be a dosser, and have to wear the same clothes for years maybe. Until you get something from a bin or something similar. You will, I guarantee, wonder how you managed to smell that bad so quickly. But it happens, and it always will, you're gonna stink like that all the time, and it's never going to get better, only worse. If you ever get a chance for a shower, take it, you shouldn't even need to think, just get in there, you'll be so glad you did afterwards, you'll feel cleaner, but not much because you've got to put the same clothes back on, but all the same, your cleaner. Remember, every little bit will help you out in the long run. I'll include pain into this, as it fits in, sort of. The pain you'll get is mostly from the bruises you'll collect from sleeping, but that's only the phsyical pain, there's loads of emotional pain, like having to wake up and realising there's nothing to do except sit there and hope someone's gonna give you enough change to buy something remotely decent to eat, and you've got to sit in a doorway for hours trying to get some sleep, which you won't manage to do for ages. But, if you do, then there's tommorow, which is exacly the same as what you sat through today. Oh, and having everyone look down on you, doesn't help one little bit. It's probably the worst, havng to sit there, knowing they've got a roof over their head, and money to burn, and a bed, and you've got none of it. Worst. Thing. Ever.
Final conclusion here, don't bother running away from home, no matter what your home life is like, exacly the same as what I said above, at the start. The life of a dosser, is so much worse. Having to sleep on the street, no money. No nothing infact. So please people, don't even think about running away, my advice is stick it out until you can leave home and move in with your friend or partner. Homelessness is worse.
Edd Adams, 9 Orange. Words: 1130.
Thanks for reading, if you did, COMMENT PLEASE.