Day 44: Random Chats

Today was another volunteer day followed by a double feature of "Four" and "A Late Quartet". "Four" was what it was but "A Late Quartet" was really great. Could have lived without it's "look how serene and pretty Central Park is in the snow" shots considering my state of mind lately.

While I waiting in line for the first movie, I met a young woman who was an extra in the short film preceding the feature. She and I started talking and she told me about this counseling group she put together with a friend of hers for young mothers. She was 22, herself had 3 children, had finally won a 4 year battle with the states of Texas and Louisiana over the releasing and accepting of her credits, and then finished her last remaining class. She's also the only CNA trained young person I have ever met to actually be working as a CNA (and an extra, I have no idea how this young woman has the time to sleep).

This is not a conversation I would have had in a movie theater line in New York. I don't know if that's because I would have been closed off to it because of work burn out or the selective randomness of the city, but it was nice to talk to a young woman who I could have, at some point, worked with. Since I've been here, I've talked to a lot of adults about the state of youth, education, and employment; but for obvious reasons, these tend to have a limited perspective.