Stranger #31

Stranger #31-

One of the best yet worst parts of doing this project is the fact that you never know who you're going to approach and what they're going to say. Meeting Jennifer and listening to what she chose to tell me actually made me sad, and if I'm completely honest, her story at one point brought tears to my eyes. Although I love it when people arent afraid to open up, sometimes how much they open up really catches me off guard! When I started doing this and talking to random people who don't know me from Adam, I assumed that they may be timid, possibly shy or taken back by what I was doing. I've gone up to 31 different people, and I've learned that my assumptions for the most part have been proven wrong. I've learned a lot just by giving them an open ear. Jennifer helped reinforce that we need to be grateful and appreciate anyone and anything that is essential to us in our lives, because they may not be present tomorrow.

Meet Jennifer Duffy.

"I'm the manager at Dunkin Donuts right down the street. I have two girls, one is 10, and the other is 11. I've been going through a lot actually. I buried my mother who was 55 last Thursday. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do in my life. My mom had a stroke which put her in the hospital. While she was there, they ran more tests because something just wasnt right. She was in Jefferson and was informed that she had lung cancer. We transferred her to Fox Chase Cancer Center and was told that the cancer had spread, and there was absolutely nothing that we could do. The worst part about all of it was that I didnt get to say bye to my mom. I asked for time off two weeks before she passed, and they told me no. A week later, she passed, and I wasnt there. After everything that happened, I went to the doctor due to extremely bad pains in my head. The doctor told me I have a tumor that has to be removed, and they arent sure if it's cancerous. It's been rough lately, but I tell myself and my children to cherish the time that you have, life is short!"- Jennifer