Journal #28 - Different Social Status or Culture

There are three main places I have been in my life where I have just absolutely not fit in. This one time, my family decided that it would be a great idea to go to Amish Country. So, me, being insanely interested in the Amish/non-technological world, jumped at the chance to go. However, I have a deep appreciation for all of the technological advancements of this time period... phones, iPods, pc's, laptops, etc... We drove over to Arthur, a popular Amish area. It was very neat! They had animals and corn everywhere. I could have been in the 1800s. Only, not, seeing as though there were people everywhere taking pictures of stuff with their cameras and iPhones galore. I slowly looked down at my hand. I was one of them. I was taking a picture of these poor Amish folk's goat. Backing away, I came to a realization. I am not Amish. None of these people were! Okay, some were - but I felt really out of my element. I had a great time that day, but I could feel the stares of all of the Amish folk. They liked the visitors, but they must have thought we were extremely weird. I find the Amish people very interesting, but in the end, I will never be Amish. The second time I felt out of my element was when I was at this fancy dinner party with my parents. I am not a fancy individual. If I try....REALLY hard I can pull off a higher middle or lower higher class, but not often. I'm just not like that. I felt extremely awkward then. Lastly, I felt out of place at school. I have always been in the sort of "weird" group of kids. Its not that we are weird, necessarily, but we definitely look at life differently. I have never ever seen this as a bad thing. However, the weirdness my friends and I have provokes negative thought in those of the... "more popular" groups. This has gone down immensely since middle school - everyone minds their own business now for the most part - but it had been bad. Whenever we would have group projects with assigned partner, getting put with a different social class student was pretty much the worst thing ever. Unfortunately, since the weirder groups tend to be lower on the food chain, such an occurrence was not enjoyable for me. Those are pretty much the only places where I have felt like I didn't fit in. For any situation similar to those, I tend to assert my position as being an awesome individual, so I do not notice any negative feelings of displacement.

Journal #27 - Defending My Country

I can imagine that the experience of fighting for your country, miles and miles away from home, is a terrifying one. Maybe you are hotheaded. Maybe you like to fight. Maybe you are so devoted to protecting those you love that you do not even notice the hardships you are experiencing on the inside. What ever the case may be, I imagine that there is always at least some amount of homesickness in the soldiers' hearts. If I was fighting for my country, far away, not knowing if I would live or die, I would be scared. I would most likely not back down, but that does not mean that I would not be upset. To be honest, I give so many props to the soldiers who fight every day for this country. They are sacrificing so much of their time and their lives to make sure that the rest of us can live happily and peacefully. Being so far away would be awful, especially for those soldiers with families. Whenever I look on the TV around Veteran's Day, they occasionally show commercials about fathers who are soldiers. They always have those really adorable clips of them coming home in their army uniforms and finding their loved ones waiting at the airport for them. The little girl runs up to him (I'm crying at this point in the commercial) (only not) and then the mother slowly walks up with the baby that - of course - was borning during his time in the war. Sorry about the little seque there. What I am trying to say is that soldiers are amazing. They risk their lives everyday and have to live apart from their loved ones with only letters, email, and skype to bring them together. It would be awful. In the end, I believe I would hate fighting for my country because of all of the bad extra aspects of it. However, that just gives me an even stronger respect for those who everyday are out risking everything for our country.

Journal #26 - Something Particular to This Area?

Immediately, when the question said "this area", I thought "...Springfield." You see, we live in quite a boring city if you really think about it. All we have going for us is the constant presence of corn and Lincoln related trinkets. What is the pride of our actual city? Our Lincoln Library and Museum. Sure, its really nice! I love going there! Its a very nice, interesting experience that teaches us a lot about Civil War history! And, might I add, who doesn't want to learn about Civil War history? I can actually think of a few people. Then, there's New Salem, and that is pretty interesting. Nonetheless, I digress. In addition to everything Lincoln about our city/town/area/region/thing, one other thing is very prevalent. Corn. Ah, yes, corn. I have been very bored at certain points in my lifetime, so every so often, I walk outside to admire the beauty of our flat, flat land. More often than not, I am greeted by the lovely sight of corn - whether it be flourishing and green, or dead and brown. Despite my allergy to corn pollen, I love the corn around us. Always changing. It also - not that I forget - reminds be of what time of year it is. Obviously, if it is tall and green, it is summertime. Seeing the healthy stalks all around me fills me with warmth and joy! You know, only slightly. Then, as I walk out of my house in early fall, I see the once life-filled stalks slowly browning, indicating that they are ready to be harvested. Watching the corn gets me through the year, in a way. I appreciate it. I have met so many people who absolutely hate the plainness of our corn fields, but I find it fascinating. So, between the corn and all of our Lincoln themed places,  I find that Springfield, where very uneventful, is one of my favorite places to live. Not that I have lived anywhere else.

Journal #25 - Giving

Giving is a wondrous thing. Having just gone through the Christmas season, we all should have at least a little bit of an understanding about what giving is. Giving is willingly handing something over to someone, often for their benefit and not your own. They say the Christmas season is all about giving, and it makes sense because of how many of us celebrate it. We spend the season giving gifts, big and small, to our friends and family. And for what do we do this for? It may be because its tradition, because you do not want to be that person who did not put in the effort to give someone a Christmas gift. That could be the reason for a lot of gift giving. However, I like to see giving differently. When you hand your friend or family member that gift that you put so much effort into getting, you anxiously await the moment that they open it. That anxiousness comes from the fact that you really want to see their reaction. Obviously, you want the person to like their gift, seeing as you got it for them.When they open it up and they love it, you are immediately filled with warmth and happiness. "They like it!", you think, rejoicing. Apparently, you have received something from this gift as well. In most cases, I can refer to giving being in and of itself a benefit to both the giver and the receiver. It is a gift that keeps on giving. You have given that person a gift, and they loved it. Then, you are extremely satisfied with yourself and then are bent on always getting that reaction from your gift giving skills. Because of that, you continue to give more to more people, hoping for similar reactions. Also, the receiver of your gift now wants to give you something in return. You will probably really love the gift, so your original receiver will love the feeling they got from your happiness. It is an endless cycle of love! That is why giving is such a terrific thing, and more people should make a habit of doing so.