Just Like Everywhere Else

 

Here, just like everywhere else,

A million faces roam the streets every day, earning a living in any possible way.

Some have their jobs or a small business to oversee,

Some search for the missing dollar needed to keep the place where they stay.

Here, like everywhere else,

Everyone has their own story,

A story about how someone woke up a millionaire thanks to the lottery,

How someone decided to take

What the world owed him through robbery.

Here, just like everywhere else,

Some people can’t live without Wi-Fi;

Others survive by eating every other day.

Some live carefree; others feel that

The only answer to their problems is to pray.

Some people believe that life is a constant struggle; others think of it as a game that they play.

Some people live the life they want to; others live by rules that they have to obey.

 

But one thing happens here and maybe not everywhere else,

Some of the million faces seen here have hope for better lives,

Hope that their existence will no longer be like juggling knives,

Hope that they will no longer be difficult to thrive,

Hope that their stories will change in a way that they think is just fine,

Hope that pushes them through the hurdles they face all the time.

 

Gaël, Bridge Academy, 12th grade