If you saw me in class but weren't close to me, you'd probably know that I'm in tons of clubs, get good grades, and am in this school program for future doctors. You might notice that I dress pretty well, that I used to go out with this guy, Rich, and that my best buds are Karin, Jamie, and Mary.

But you wouldn't have a clue that I'm homeless. I never know when I'm going to come back from school to find out that my family's been kicked out of wherever we're staying and that we have no place to sleep. Sometimes we don't have enough money to buy food and eat only crackers for a week. Living like that is a huge part of who I am. But you'd never know (Smith, 1996:66-70). --MG