Finding God

“You don’t mess with this nigga!” Twenty-foot archaic ceilings and colorfully painted walls echoed curses and expletives as fists flew and blood dripped. Rough-hewn floorboards rattled and announced the chaos to the frightened volunteers in the basement below as bodies hit the floor, hands and fists reaching to bloody his face again. Furniture was violently displaced as the brawl moved across the floor. He screamed as he fought to free himself from the grip of eight furious teenagers. Sweat, dirt, and blood were smeared across the floor and passed from person to person as fists and teeth made contact with already bruised and battered skin. No one knew his name, but we all knew that he had changed the history of this place forever. *          *          *          *          *   ...

I have been working on a semester-long project, providing business consulting for a local non-profit organization called The Carriage House in Boulder, Colorado. I have been a weekly volunteer for The Carriage House since July of last year, so it has been exciting to have such a great opportunity to help this wonderful group of people. I have had the opportunity to hear many different peoples' stories and help others along the way. I created this video to increase awareness of The Carriage House. The Carriage House from Benten Woodring on Vimeo .

On November 8th at 7:41pm, I was struck by a Jeep while riding my bike home. I blacked out while I was in the air and could barely move after the impact. An ambulance arrived shortly after one of the witnesses called, and several EMTs put me in a neck brace and strapped me down to a stretcher. I ended up being shipped to the county hospital and had a CT scan taken of my head and neck to assess the damage. It turned out that I wasn't seriously injured and I was released two hours later. Now, a month later, I am faced with over $1,700 in medical bills, $700 in chiropractic work, and a $100 traffic ticket, since I was at fault for the accident for biking too quickly through a crosswalk. I currently work two jobs to pay for rent, food, and other bills that I have, so it's pretty obvious that I don't have a great deal of money sitting around, let alone over two grand. I also only have extremely minimal insurance, which will cover very little, if any, of the c...