Today, one of the first day's I've had off in quite awhile, I spent back in time. No, not time travel, but a day spent with the older generations of my family. For my history class, I am required to interview 3 people for my final paper. The topic of discussion in this paper is completely up to me, but the 3 people must be able to talk about it in some way. I think I learned more today then the entire semester of my history class in general. The day started out at 11 when I went to visit my 90 year old great-grandma. She may be old, but she has a lot of life to be learned from. She read some entries from a diary she had kept discussing events in her life and little miscellaneous information that might be passed on to someone when she's gone. As we were sitting at lunch, she noticed a man changing the gas prices on the sign. From 3.48 to 3.47 it went. And of course we talked about how it was easily obtainable to fill up a car for less than a dollar, but nobody could even afford a car, so they didn't worry about it then. After lunch, my grandma (her daughter) met up with us after work. And by 3pm, I felt like I was living in the most spoiled, disrespectful, shocking generation of the history of the world.
By the time I got to my grandpa, I knew what to expect. "Kids never find out the value of a dollar. They have gotten so spoiled. When I was young, I mowed yards at the age of 8 or 9, I had two paper routes, and I caught chickens until about 1 in the morning. Kids today expect the money that we had to work so hard for." The sad part is that each of my grandparents....were correct. Thankfully, I was raised having to have a job right when I turned 15, and had to pay my mom for any money I ever borrowed. To this day, I'm still in debt with her, but I know in the end it'll be worth it. Because unlike most of the spoiled kids today, I know that I need to save money if I want to do anything or get anything. It's life and it's going to happen sooner or later. I'm glad I was assigned this paper for history. I'm glad that I got to hear what life was back in the day, before the people passed on and were buried with all of their memories, experiences, and knowledge. And in today, I've realized that I need to spend as much time with those people around me that can teach me more about life before their life is gone. They have lived through much much more than our generation could ever fathom. It's quite incredible.
4.17.2008
4.09.2008
The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn....
...is just to love and be loved in return"~Moulin Rouge
"You love the Red Sox, but have they ever loved you back?"~Fever Pitch
It's crazy to actually think that there is someone out there who is on the opposite side of this every second of the day. Someone who, no matter the distance, the words said, the things done, the mistakes made, He will always love us. In relation to the Moulin Rouge quote, our mission is just to love Him with all of our hearts. Nothing else truly matters besides knowing our real father. In accordance with the Fever Pitch quote, we can't take things for granted, such as God himself. We often put other things or people in His place that may not even love us back, or at least not as much as what we deserve. It's crazy how much we get caught up in our problems and our drama and our issues that we often forget about the One who gave us life. A life to be lived out for Him, thanking Him, praising Him, and ultimately loving Him. When are we ever going to return the favor that He gives to us every moment of the day?
"You love the Red Sox, but have they ever loved you back?"~Fever Pitch
It's crazy to actually think that there is someone out there who is on the opposite side of this every second of the day. Someone who, no matter the distance, the words said, the things done, the mistakes made, He will always love us. In relation to the Moulin Rouge quote, our mission is just to love Him with all of our hearts. Nothing else truly matters besides knowing our real father. In accordance with the Fever Pitch quote, we can't take things for granted, such as God himself. We often put other things or people in His place that may not even love us back, or at least not as much as what we deserve. It's crazy how much we get caught up in our problems and our drama and our issues that we often forget about the One who gave us life. A life to be lived out for Him, thanking Him, praising Him, and ultimately loving Him. When are we ever going to return the favor that He gives to us every moment of the day?
4.04.2008
Life is Way Too Short
In the past couple of weeks, I have found myself to be at a very low point. The overload of papers for school, hours for work, drama with friends and family, and serious health issues have made me so consumed with thoughts of getting away and just wanting to be done with it all. Yeah, summer break is in a few weeks, but I have felt that a much needed break was in order after the weeks that I have been going through. One after the other, problems came into my life. And when we are so overwhelmed with stress and overall, life, we either try to block everything out and ignore it, or we make it a bigger deal than it has to be and we forget about everyone else around us. Well, wouldn't you know that a few seventh and eighth grade kids would open my eyes as to how I've been acting lately.
These past two weeks I've been so focused on MY problems, MY issues, MY drama, and MY life. And in the mean time, other people are going through the same things, junior highers for instance. And what type of leader am I if I don't help them through it? Perhaps in return, they will end up helping me unintentially. Who knows? But I can't continue going through all of this alone, it's way too hard. So, I know how those junior highers feel when they talk about cancer scares in their families, or a loss of really close friends, or problems in their families. It's really hard to combine all of these issues and put them into one life. But sometimes, that's the way it has to be for us to learn through it. I know things will get better, but nobody thinks about that when they are at the lowest of lows. It's too hard.
These past two weeks I've been so focused on MY problems, MY issues, MY drama, and MY life. And in the mean time, other people are going through the same things, junior highers for instance. And what type of leader am I if I don't help them through it? Perhaps in return, they will end up helping me unintentially. Who knows? But I can't continue going through all of this alone, it's way too hard. So, I know how those junior highers feel when they talk about cancer scares in their families, or a loss of really close friends, or problems in their families. It's really hard to combine all of these issues and put them into one life. But sometimes, that's the way it has to be for us to learn through it. I know things will get better, but nobody thinks about that when they are at the lowest of lows. It's too hard.
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