Step Away From the Mirror

LOS ANGELES TENDS to be an image-obsessed city. Whether it be the fascination with celebrities or fighting for the table outside at the Ivy so you can "be seen: these are things we encounter daily. Yet L.A. reached a new low for me when I went to Chevron and purchased a few energy bars and large water bottles—aka finals survival fuel. While standing at the cash register, the cashier looked me up and down and told me that “if you want to keep that body you shouldn’t be eating these candy bars.” Though I tried to explain that they were indeed energy bars, he wouldn’t listen. Although my annoyance was on my mind at the forefront, it made me think that if we can’t even go to the gas station without our image being put in check, then where in Los Angeles can we go?

The homeless shelter. For an eye opening experience of the real people of Los Angeles I spend time volunteering at a homeless shelter which will not be disclosed due to privacy restrictions. It is here that the plastic surgery, fast cars and monetary obsession fade away. These people of Los Angeles could care less about it and make you feel that you should too. Their greatest concern is whether they will be able to find a place to finally take a shower.
And yet, so often as Angelenos, we pass these people on Santa Monica's 3rd Street Promenade or at the end of the freeway, begging for their livelihood. And what happens? People speed by in their $100,000 cars without giving them a second thought, except to maybe ensure that their doors are locked.

One thing I am proud of is that the city of Los Angeles has finally taken an interest in homelessness and the rate has dropped 38% since 2007 due to the $100-Homeless Prevention Initiative. But living in a city where so many have so much, we could reduce this number further and possibly eradicate it. As celebrities give to important relief efforts oversees, I wish we could remind them that here at home we can really make a difference too. Maybe it’s time that Angelenos stop looking in the mirror and start looking outward.

-- Emily Day
(photocredit: omar omar, flickr creative commons)