Saturday, January 8:

Today I decided to dress up like a homeless person for the Scarlet Letter Project. My friend suggested the idea on Friday morning, but I didn’t decide until today. I firmly decided when I took my older brother to the airport. Just off exit 152, on northbound I-5, there is a homeless person who stands there, hoping to draw on the pity of the passing motorists. I have taken this exit several times and this was not the first time I had seen him there. There was a long line behind the intersection, so I had a good long look at this man. He reminded me of many homeless people I saw in Europe, on my many extravagant travels. I felt sorry for him, and for them. I’m sure they were ashamed somewhat or embarrassed by the plight in life. I thought this over in my mind, and wondered if I had the resources to undertake this project. Come to think of it now, that’s kind of an ironic oxymoron. I’m wondering if I have the resources to be homeless, when the homeless don’t have any resources. After returning home from the airport, I went to the task of making myself homeless. I have a trekking backpack, that I could potentially pack a month’s supply in, which is suitable for living off for this week. I chose my "holiest" jeans and a couple dirty old shirts, one of my dad’s army shirts, a pair of hiking boots, and an old Midas Mufflers hat to top it off. I packed food and water, enough to live on for a week, but less than comfortably, and finally my guitar, as a source of income. Later today, we had to go pick up my mom from the airport. I anxiously looked for the homeless man again, but he was not there as it was late, cold, and dark. I didn’t get very many reactions at the airport probably because it wouldn’t be too uncommon to see someone carrying a large traveling backpack, or someone dressed the way I am. My mom didn’t know I was doing this, so she was surprised and my dad was just astounded that I’d actually go out in public like this. He even called me ugly. And that was about it for today.

Sunday, January 9:

Today was very uneventful. My dad said church is a family outing where I must temporarily dress normal. I wasn’t surprised by his call, I almost expected him to. Being the Sabbath, our family doesn’t normally go anywhere, and today was no exception. I never left the house after church. Today I pretty much just added stuff to my pack that I thought would be needed to survive. It was interesting to realize just how much I actually have, and how much I’d actually need. It reminded me of the time we talked in English class about whether or not we have "more than enough" when we were discussing Thoreau and Walden. I have about 8 pairs of shoes, but I only need one. I have about a dozen and a half shirts, half a dozen pants, and then luxuries. I did not pack all my stuff, only the bare minimum.

Monday, January 10:

Today was my first day at school dressed like a bum and the first time I could be seen with my peers. Most of the looks I received seemed to say, "is that guy really carry a backpack that big to school?" They seemed more started by the backpack than with the clothes I was wearing. My friends knew immediately what was going on, and they just kind of snickered and let me be. Today I also began feeling what an actual burden this backpack is, physically. I haven’t weighed it or anything, but I’d say it’s close to fifty pounds. It starts to get to you when you have to walk up from the gymnasium to the 200 building. At lunch I played my guitar for donations. It was fun, and a little productive. I made $1.22 and one Canadian penny. My friend told me he’d pay me a dollar to just shut up. I didn’t, so I didn’t get the dollar. For the most part, people just ignored me. Getting around was the hardest thing. Both my backpacks are heavy, and my guitar is oblong, and kind of gets in the way when you’re trying to get through a crowd. At PE, I couldn’t put my stuff away in my gym locker, because it’s too small. I had to ask Mr. Bemis to keep my stuff locked up in his room. I felt awkward asking this favor because he has no idea who I am, or why I look the way I do.

Tuesday, January 11:

Today was a pretty good day. Cameron Leatham has some black face-paint that works really well when you want your face to look dirty. I smeared some of that on, and it made me look a little more homeless. The day was pretty uneventful. I had a few questions asked about my backpack. I just politely told them I didn’t want to talk about. They seemed to be ok with that answer. Some people just wanted to play my guitar, and I let them. I didn’t make that much at lunch either; it was only about 50 cents. I guess people that have second lunch on even days are just not that generous. A couple select seniors who knew what this experience was about heckled me and just wanted to have fun and relish in the fact that they were already through with it. That’s ok, I forgive them. After school nothing eventful happened. Homework swamps my schedule, but perhaps tomorrow I’ll be able to get out more.

Wednesday, January 12:

I slept very well last night and actually woke up on my own without the aide of the alarm clock. The snow on the ground made me feel real good, too. There was a chance school would be canceled and then I could go skiing. But that didn’t happen. School was ok. Everybody just looks at me like I’m strange, but some do that anyway. Then they take a look at people like Jessica Croyle, and they cringe. My PE teacher actually stopped me while the class was jogging and asked me if everything was ok. As politely as I could, I told her everything was just fine and that I didn’t really want to talk about it. She understood, somewhat, but I could still tell she was confused, and a little concerned. I had an even less productive lunch than I had the yesterday. Nobody is in the charitable mood after Christmas. But that’s ok, God Bless them all. I received a rebate in the mail today for something I purchased nearly 4 months ago. I need the money for the dance this weekend, so I went to the bank to check it. I thought maybe I would get some good reactions at the bank, but I didn’t. I was very polite, and the bank teller reciprocated equally. I thought that was very considerate of them, and very respectful. My friend I was with needed to return something at the Target at Lakewood mall, so we went there next. Because it is the Lakewood Mall, there were not a lot of people there to begin with. The few looks that I did get seemed to say, "well, there goes another one!" I’m fine with that, too. I know it could be worse. The backpack hasn’t gotten any lighter, my shoulder are beginning to hurt a little bit after I’ve been walking and going up stairs is decidedly more difficult than normal.

Thursday, January 13:

Oh, so close to the end, I can almost feel it. I am definitely ready to take this burden off my shoulders. This is now the second time this week that I’ve been in these classes, so almost everybody has already seen others, and me. They are not surprised that I still have this trashy garb on, and am still carrying my guitar and backpack. Mr. Bishoff, my electronics teacher, wasn’t at school on Tuesday, so he didn’t see me. He expressed curiosity about my appearance and extra load. I just politely told him I didn’t want to talk about it and that all would be explained in the coming weeks. He accepted that, as most people have. I had a couple of sophomores come up and ask me what kind of reactions I’ve gotten from people concerning my attire. I was kind of surprised that they knew I was looking for reactions. I told them I’ve gotten some feelings of concern from adults, and ridicule from my peers. Oh yeah, the relentless persecution from a certain senior or two continued. Hyon Kim and I shared some bum camaraderie and defended ourselves in Math Analysis. I only made 8 cents playing the guitar at lunch and I loaned out 75 cents. That’s a bum’s life. I was a little apprehensive about going to pick up my rented tuxedo today, but everything worked out fine. I think the employees there were a little startled by my outfit, but they didn’t treat me any differently. I think it was because they wanted my money.

Friday, January 14:

Wow, it’s finally over and done with. I rolled out of bed and put on my backpack with a lighter step, and an air of excitement, as I knew I wouldn’t have to do this again tomorrow. I feel what Dimmesdale must have felt when he returned home from his forest interlude with Hester. He too had a brighter step and did not show the weariness he demonstrated before. I felt like that today. As I knew that my burden would be lifted shortly, I theorize that Dimmesdale felt his burden would be lifted shortly, when returning from the forest. I didn’t have any problem going to school today. Many people asked if it was my last day, and I told them yes. I think several others had their last day today, too. I did not hear any comment regarding my appearance at school, but I went to the monster truck show at the Tacoma Dome tonight, and I received several insecure looks. I was a sharp contrast to my nicely dressed father and brother, but they did not treat me different or refuse to sit by me or anything like that. There were a couple people sitting in front of me and to the left side of me that I could tell were periodically glancing over in my direction to see if I was still there or not. Then a small group of high school students walked in and sat in our section that looked worse than me. I made the comment to my dad that they looked like they were doing a Scarlet Letter project, too. There were some haughty girls, some bums, and some guys that looked totally ridiculous. I seriously think they were doing a project just like this one because there is no other explanation for the way they were dressed. The people that once glanced at me now glanced at them. And that was my experience for the day. It was nothing life changing or serious. It was a fun experiment, and interesting ordeal.