San Francisco is a truly remarkable and beautiful city. It has extremely tall buildings, great long bridges, and cable cars that crawl up and down the steep hills throughout the city. My first trip to the Great City by the Bay called San Francisco was eye opening in so many ways and changed my life for the greater good.

My father, brother, and I had just arrived at Pier 39 in the city. It was a perfect, wonderful day in San Francisco. The weather was clear, sunny, with a slight breeze. I could almost taste the salt water from the endless Pacific Ocean in the wind. The seals were basking in the sun right off the Pier. Boats and ships were heading North, South, and West from the Pier itself. Pier 39, just like San Francisco, was so beautiful.

As we walked from place to place at Pier 39 and beyond, I saw that there was so much more to San Francisco than beauty, there is poverty and sorrow. It seemed to me that no matter where I went, there were so many homeless men, women, and even children. In the beauty in the city, there is pain and suffering.

I asked my father why and how homelessness happens. My father then told me that homelessness happens to those through unfortunate events and bad decisions. I have seen my father give money and food to the homeless, but there are too many of them to try and support them all.

The experience of seeing so many homeless people in one place - one city - affected me greatly. It is a sad thing to see men, women, and children with no home, no food, and no clothes to keep them warm during the harsh weather of San Francisco during the winter. It has taught me about life, and taught me to make good decisions, so I don't end up in the same situation as some of them are in. It has also showed me that I want to help the homeless when I get older. Through my career or simply donations.

My trip to the Great City by the Bay taught me to recognize that there can be pain and suffering in the beauty around us, no matter where we are.