Most of us are extremely lucky and have somewhere to live and food to eat. When we throw out a sandwich because we don’t like it, we never take into consideration how others would have gobbled it down. We don’t think much about those in other parts of the world who are starving, and maybe even homeless.

“Udasi Means Sadness” by Neel Swamy impacted me greatly. I am one of those people who takes life for granted, and this nonfiction piece made me reconsider that. In this piece, Neel tells us about how some people live in India. Swamy says, “These children will never receive a proper education, and it is only a matter of time before their relatives will be taken away by disease or famine and they will have to fend for themselves.” This quote portrays how some people live in India. Unlike me, the children that Neel encountered will not get as good of an education as I am getting, and their family members may get extremely ill, leaving them to face the world alone.

Neel also says, “I close my eyes, but the images are brighter than ever. This is reality.” The fact that people do live in these conditions is reality, but some people are not aware of it. We take life for granted, thinking only of ourselves and not of those who will eat anything to survive.

I have a friend that is constantly reminding us about children who are starving when we throw away food. Every time someone throws away their meal, she says, “do you know how many children in Ethiopia need that food?” and she is completely correct. Neel Swamy did an amazing job at making readers realize how we should consider others who are less fortunate than ourselves.