MEAGAN

prized possession : black bandana

 

At twenty-three, Meagan has been homeless on and off since the age of sixteen. Originally stationary on the streets of Philadelphia, she has since been in transit for the three years prior to our meeting. Meagan is well aware of the harsh realities of life on the streets. She wears her seven plus years of homelessness in the gentle, mellow, and detached manner in which she describes some of the tribulations of her experiences. "I wasn't brought up in a great family I guess ya know? Parents weren't ready to have a kid and shit. Pretty much found my way on my own."  Regardless, her shy, kind, softness, contrasts the hardness of the surrounding cold concrete and her tales of the road that took her to Denver. "We were trying to head up north towards Oregon. Trying to get out of Arizona because the cops are really bad over there with being on the streets and stuff. They tried to charge us with a felony for squatting, our dog got stolen, so we were just trying to get out of there. Some kids were like 'We're going to Denver, Colorado', so we were like we might as well check out Colorado. We thought we had a place to stay here but got in an argument with the guy so that didn't work out." 

 

Prized Possession: Her black bandana is her prized possession, simply because she has managed to hold onto it. “All my stuff got stolen so I guess I would have to say this (black bandana). I’ve had it since like Houston. So it’s got a decent amount of miles on it and stuff ya know. It’s just something I don’t lose. It’s the one things Ill never lose. I lose packs I lose sleeping bags, stuff gets stolen. But this stays right here (around her neck).Living outside makes you appreciate the things you should appreciate in life rather than name brand products. It makes you very unmaterialistic, because you never know when you’re gonna lose something. Material objects come and go.” As I depart she sweetly tells me, "I hope your book gets published."