Black Thursday?

Black Friday is easily one of the most exciting days for many consumers. It is the day people are willing to lose sleep to wait in endless lines at stores. It is the day that people will get into physical brawls over merchandise. It is the day that people might even camp outside of a store just to get what they want.

But what happens when Black Friday actually starts on Thursday-- Thanksgiving!!

Many of the stores this year started their door busters at 6 P.M. on Thursday. My family and I typically do partake in the Black Friday festivities, but we don't go out until Friday morning. To me, it just does not seem right that we having people fighting in stores over things they want when it is supposed to be a day to give thanks for all the things that we have. The true meanings of Thanksgiving and Christmas are being buried by greed.

In my opinion, it seems ridiculous that people would be willing to leave their family gatherings to go shopping. In addition, think of all of the workers who are spending their Thanksgiving checking out the endless line of shoppers instead of getting to spend time with their loved one's and give thanks.

From another perspective, it's not solely the selfishness of a customer. Consumers may feel tempted by these great deals and feel the need to go out shopping so they can give their loved ones the best gift possible. The stores may be more to blame. They extend their sale period in order to make more money. In turn, customers are missing out on their Thanksgiving gatherings in order to buy the things they could normally get on Friday.

Some people may choose to shop on Thanksgiving, but I will be choosing to feast with my beautiful family and give thanks!

Grateful

When I got home last Friday, the first thing I noticed when walking in the front door was the smell of delicious food. Sure enough, my mom had a roast ready in the crock pot. I immediately got out a plate and ate and ate and ate. Quite honestly, I nearly ate the whole roast. After weeks of cafeteria food, nothing tasted so good.

I realized, however, that I did not need to thank my mom, but apologize. I used to always complain about having roast for dinner. It was never my favorite. But this instance made me realize how good I had it. The smile on my mom's face was priceless as I confessed how much I took her meals for granted.

Although this is just one example, I think moving away to college has made me realize how much I took for granted before. There was always a delicious home-cooked meal on the table each night. There was always a place to throw my dirty laundry so my mom could wash it for me. There was always a family there to support me, no matter how much they annoyed me at times.

This week has been so fulfilling to get reunited with my friends and family. I am so thankful to have all of these wonderful people in my life who have done so much for me over the years. The saying "we don't realize what we have until it is gone" is so relatable.

Today I am grateful for all the blessings in my life. One of my favorite sayings is "What if we woke up tomorrow with only the things we were grateful for today?" That one line can really make you think. Were you grateful today? What are you taking for granted today?

Money

It controls peoples lives. From they day they are born from they day they die. You are either born poor, middle class, or upper class and you have to choice on which category you get to fall in. Some of us have it great, while others struggle to make ends meet day to day. But why do we as humans prioritize money so much? In the end we all die.

When I was in junior high school and all throughout high school I thought that I just hadddd to make tons of money. One, because I thought I would love to be able to by what ever I want whenever I want. Two, I thought it would make me better than those who did not make as much as me. And sure, it would be fun to make money but does it really make me better? For some reason I was looking at money as power for he longest time until, which I do not know what cause this yet, I looked at money differently. I looked at peoples happiness and what they were doing with their money. Those who seemed to be the happiest were not millionaires but they were the ones with close relationships with their friends and family. Those who were happy took it moments, memories, and the little things that really make this life here on Earth meaningful.

Recently I have decided to stop trying to look for the best way to make a lot of money for my future. I have decided to put it in Gods hands. If I wind up making a bunch of money then so be it. But I have choosen a career path that I think I will love. I want to be a teacher(and wrestling coach). I want to impact the lives of others all around me. I am no longer chasing the so beloved evil of money. I am chasing the happiness of myself, the close relationships that money cannot muy, and I am chasing the respect of everyone around me.

So I ask others to join me. Quit wasting time trying to chase something that in the end does not mean a damn thing because we all die, and chase those moments and feelings you can share with others and impact their lives and generations of lives. Leave your own leagacy, no matter how big or small it is.

Opened Eyes

I know this is a little late, but I wanted to bring up the tunnel of consciousness and my reaction to it. This has been on my mind ever since leaving the tunnel and found it appropriate to bring up again in this blog. One of the major themes that stood out to me while walking through the tunnel was how much discrimination gays, lesbians, homosexuals, and trans genders face. I know this sounds silly, but previously to the tunnel I was oblivious to this.

               I was oblivious primarily because I myself do not, at least to my knowledge, discriminate against them. I do not understand them simply because I am not in their shoes and do not go through the situations that they do. The fact that I myself do not understand is a big enough reason to not judge them. How can I judge someone who I hardly even know, just based on their sexual preference? I think that’s what our society is missing. We label others as different simply because we do not understand them. Maybe, we should try harder to gain this understanding.

               Although I do believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, I also believe that I am not supposed to judge others, and that EVERYONE deserves happiness.

The wall with all of the suicides hung up of people who were discriminated against due to this issue really shook me. I am sensitive to suicide in general, but seeing all of these suicides that resulted from endless bullying and discrimination made me want to throw up. Society can easily prevent these from happening by loving each other despite our differences.
Being raised Lutheran, I was taught that you follow what the bible said, or you would go to hell. Although I am now non-denominational, I still have family members who believe this is true- that certain sins and bad decisions will keep you from getting into heaven. With that being said, one of my aunts recently came out as a lesbian. She was married to a man for several years and has a son who is in his 20’s now. She realized something was missing from her life and got a divorce which led to her meeting an old friend from high school to catch up on life. She explained to us (my family) that it just felt right when she was with her and that she loved her. I didn’t really understand it, but I tried to be as open and loving as possible about the situation. The rest of my family members failed to do the same.
The ridicule my aunt received from some of my family members was ridiculous. FAMILY means loving each other despite our flaws (if you even want to call this a flaw). My aunt is one of the sweetest people on this earth, and I have never seen her this happy.

               After the tunnel, I immediately thought of my aunt and was drowned in sadness because I’m sure she faces the same type of discrimination from people she doesn’t even know.  

Before the tunnel I was oblivious to all of this simply because I myself don’t pay attention to this topic as much as I really should. I was unaware of the severity of this type of discrimination simply because I didn’t participate in it.
 There are many issues in our society today where I have the “I should stay out of it and not judge them” attitude, but that inhibits me from being fully aware of all of the injustices occurring. Isn’t that what this class is all about?  Not just accepting others who are different, but recognizing the social injustices occurring and doing something productive about it?!

Human Trafficking

Paige and I are doing our insertion project over the topic of human trafficking. I remember a speaker coming to my high school and speaking of this industry, and at that time I was in complete shock because I hardly knew anything about it. As we researched information for our pamphlet, I was horrified by some of the facts.

600,000  to 800,000 women, children, and men are bought and sold across international borders every year and exploited for forced labor or commercial sex.

There are 20.9 million victims of trafficking world wide as of 2012.

A $32 billion-a-year industry, human trafficking is on the rise and is in all 50 states. (Yes, it is happening right here around us!)

Human Trafficking has surpassed the illegal sale of arms and in the next few years is estimated to surpass the illegal sale of drugs.

This is clearly a huge industry! A HUGE problem. If this is so common, why do we never hear about this? Is it that people believe it doesn't happen here? Is it because it is such a "black market" that it's not something we are aware of?

Watching videos and reading facts about human trafficking has been sickening. Yet, I believe it has opened my eyes to such an awful injustice that is not talked about enough. More people need to be educated on this so they can identify a potential situation and also help prevent it.

People think slavery was an issue of the past. This is slavery. It still exists and it is a much bigger problem than most people are aware of.

Everyone should "like" the page Let's Stop Human Trafficking on facebook and check out our pamphlet :)

Photography as a Way of Life

Sebastião Salgado, From my Land to the Planet
Contrasto, 2014

I first heard the name of Sebastião Salgado from Mev in the early 1990s.  She esteemed him more than any other living photographer, as he embodied  a secular “preferential option for the poor.”  Mev wished to  make a similar option, precisely as a photo-journalist and theology student.  The Struggle is One, her book about the liberationist church in Brazil (Salgado’s homeland),  was one expression of her commitment.

Given your interest in and commitment to photography, I wanted to share a bit with you from Salgado’s recent autobiography, From my Land to the Planet.  The book was put together by Isabelle Francq, who interviewed Salgado during a very busy period of his life.  The book necessarily goes into much greater detail than what is suggested in Mev’s interview with him from 1993, which is one of the “Seeing the World” chapters in The Book of Mev. I think you will find a lot in this book that stimulates your imagination and photographic praxis.

The Problem With Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has been my favorite holiday as long as I could remember. We would go to my grandma and grandpa’s house and see our cousins and aunts and uncles. My cousins, brother, and I would eat until we could no longer move, and lay in the upstairs hallway watching crystals in the window refract bits of light into rainbows across the walls. Giggling at nothing and playing our favorite games like “roadkill in aisle 5”. As a child I was truly thankful for that day, for all that I had. Thankful for the generosity of the “Indians” to the pilgrims. For teaching them to survive.

As time has gone on, and my history classes have delved deeper into what we now celebrate as a time of peace and thanks. I have learned the hellish history of what the colonists have done. About the trail of tears. About assimilation. About the genocide of the Native Americans. The natives saw nature as something that belonged to no one, something that they worked with to survive. The colonists saw it as something that they could take as their own. I now see it as a celebration of the murder of innocent people for the gains of others. The thankfulness for the deceit and betrayal that the natives went through.

Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy the gathering of my family; seeing those I love. Just getting together to eat an oversized meal and lay on the couch and complain about how full we are. But I feel like we need to disconnect it from its’ original origins. Being thankful for what happened to the Native Americans seems wrong, but just having a day for celebrating all we have, and all we appreciate is a good thing. As Americans, we need to stop glamorizing and overlooking the pain, misery, and distress we have caused others just because we have benefitted from it.

Values

What are values? The proper definition for the context in which I am referencing the word is, “a person’s principles or standards of behavior; one’s judgement of what is important in life”.

So, what is important? 

School, grades, popularity, success, money, power, outward appearance…

These are just a few to be named based on what I see around me in today’s culture. 

But my question is, why? Why are these things deemed important? Who says that outward appearance outweighs what is on the inside? And why do we believe it?

Is it that we are so focused on what culture is saying that we cannot be happy with our choices and lifestyles unless everyone else approves? 

“Am I skinny enough?”

“Am I smart enough?”

“Am I pretty enough?”

“Am I successful enough?”

YOU are enough, regardless of what culture says. No matter what values are thrown your way. Shouldn't it be enough to simply stand up for what YOU value, no matter what anyone else says?

To me, that is enough. If you feel strongly enough about something to hold it at such a high standard and base your standards around it, then it is enough. So often we are taught that we have to be or act or talk or think a certain way, and that is simply not true. 

If you value something; if something in your life has meaning to you, then why not stand up for those things? You have to go after what you want, and your “wants” are influenced by your values. 

Why, then, do we as a people, not stand up for things in this world when they aren't right? Imagine if every time someone saw someone else being wronged they stood up and said this isn't right. What do you think would change? I think the whole world could change. 

Values.

They are important if they build others up. This world tears people down more than it should. 

So, let’s start focusing on the good things and hold those to a higher standard than the superficial things. Let’s build others up instead of making them question what they are doing or how they are living or in whom they believe.

Most importantly, let’s value each other.

The other day I caught myself looking at all of the Christmas decorations in the mall, thinking to myself, “I can’t wait until Christmas”. I then read an article about people’s reactions to Starbucks’ PLAIN red cups.

               If you don’t know the story about these red cups, I’ll briefly fill you in:

People (Christians) are fired up about Starbucks using blank red cups instead of the usual ones that say “Merry Christmas” on them. They exclaim that they are taking Christ out of Christmas.

               Anyway, after shopping at the mall and then reading that article, I realized that I, along with many others, are at fault for something.

               Skipping over Thanksgiving!!!

               My family has issues with one another and some live very far away, so we have always been segregated when it comes to holidays. With that being said, Thanksgiving has never really been big at my house. Sure, we have a dinner and watch a couple movies afterward, but it’s usually just my two bothers and I, and my mom and dad. Our family has inadvertently downplayed Thanksgiving.

               My parents have always taught me to be thankful for everything I have, so I guess I’ve never saw the importance of it, at least not to the degree that I should. But try to see my side, what makes Thanksgiving more important than any other day? Shouldn’t we have just as much gratitude any other day than November 26^th?

               My mom and I have always been excited about Thanksgiving because of one major thing: BLACK FRIDAY!! We would always leave our house at around 8, and sit outside the mall in our warm car until midnight. Looking back on it, I realized how messed up that is. We are completely ignoring the entire purpose of the holiday. We say our prayer, stuff our faces real quick, and then get suited up to go blow money on material things that will eventually fade.

               It wasn’t until this year, when I got invited to my boyfriend’s for Thanksgiving, where I realized that my family (along with numerous others) have been doing it all wrong. Yes, we should be thankful every day, but we should also take advantage of the day that allows our entire family (usually) to take a break and spend time with one another.

               This Thanksgiving will be different. Although I will not be with any of my family (brother is on a military base, other brother with his wife’s family, and my parents in Chicago- shopping on the magnificent mile) I will still be surrounded by great people and I will cherish that.

               It has never infuriated me that Black Friday has taken over Thanksgiving, or that Christmas decorations are put up everywhere the day after Halloween. I assume this class, and the internship I did this summer are making me more aware of all of the things going on around me.

               I hope this Thanksgiving will be a blessing for everyone, and that we as a class can all remember to cherish this holiday, and not just go on autopilot while we’re waiting for Christmas.

BROKEN GLASS

In the last two weeks

I have experienced two “accidental deaths”

One the son of close friends; the other

A student at the college.

I’ve gone 62 years never knowing personally

This kind of grief—yet here it is, both are gone.

Details unknown and I dare not speculate for long—

Drug overdose? Drowning? Gunshot wound to the head?

These two young men are in the new demographic for victims—

White, young, male, impulsive on occasion, erratic in behavior—

(Who isn’t when young, pray tell??)

And who take definitive action.

Resourceful, (and desperate) I turn to a young

Black male friend who has fingered these dark places

And has resolved to stay--maintain his life here. With us.

When I asked him what this fatal impulse is about, he

Instead gave an allegory of a dark, damp, enclosed

Space with droplets seeping from the ceiling, walls.

All about to cave in.  What about the urge to

Prevail, to motivate one’s self to find a way, even

That tiny square inch that I give homage to, believe in

With all my heart. Yes! What about that? Isn’t it there?

And if not that

What about the usefulness of cries for help to loved ones--

Family and friends, those strangers among us who will prevail if we can’t.

And what about that ancient light opening even before the

Worlds of words?  Before our contentious selves seemingly like
November stones walked towards us as if to form a team and take umbrage
At the thought of this cardinal sin?  “Uh Uh, no way
 you ain’t about to get away with that….”

My friend? He didn’t say.  He doesn’t know. Perhaps the winter fields will.

As for now, every piece of broken glass in our backyard

Talks and weeps, for the

Reason of not seeing them enough—or ever again.  

Bread and Roses - Mixed Feelings

On Friday we finished up the film Bread and Roses. The film left me with mixed feelings.

Maya, the main character, is young, lively, loving, defiant, and mischievous. It seems that in her blood is the tendency to trick others – taking the man’s keys while he’s in the shower, pressing all the buttons on the elevator, carting Sam around in the trash can, locking the clerk in the bathroom. She uses manipulation to fight back against injustice.

In general, I think that Maya’s clever tricks were good and well deserved. But the one I have problem with is the robbing of the gas station. She used her manipulative abilities to commit crime. Maya is a robber – there’s simply no way around it.

However, Maya robbed the gas station not for her own benefit, but for Ruben’s, which lessens the degree to which Maya can be criticized. To respond to the injustice of Ruben being fired, Maya committed and injustice – stealing somebodies money. Does that make it right? I can’t see Maya as a blameless hero; her intentions may have always been just, but not her actions.

Maya, like everyone, is imperfect. Her mental strength and will-power were instrumental in the janitors’ fight for better working conditions. She loves her family and friends. She was willing to give up her job so that others could keep theirs. In many ways, Maya is a good person, but she is not a perfect person.

Now I want to discuss the concept of the movie. Maya enters the country illegally, gets a job, and then demands higher wages and benefits. Looking at this objectively, I see a problem. Imagine if somebody just walked into your dorm or apartment or house and started demanding things from you. Why is it ok at a national level?

I acknowledge that the metaphor I just gave oversimplifies the situation. Many people who come into the country from Latin America are escaping terrible living conditions. Coming to the US may be the only hope. Are we supposed to send them back, lock them out, and look the other way while they starve? That’s inhumane.

The whole issue of illegal immigration vexes me – it’s not right to neglect immigration laws, to neglect the border – it’s also not right to treat human beings like trash. Do I celebrate Maya and her friends improving their lives? Yes. Do I think that there is something wrong with entering the country illegally? Yes. I’m not sure where I go from here…

Tough Love

A few weeks ago I was invited to go see a movie. I was expecting buttery popcorn and a subpar film that would put me to sleep. (That’s usually what happens when I go to the movies). However, I was surprised at how interested I would be in this film.

               “Woodlawn”, the movie that we saw, is about heavy racism in Alabama. So here is just a short summary of the film (sorry if you’re planning on seeing it I’ll try not to say too much): It’s the story of a football team, made up primarily of white players, who has to overcome adversity and more importantly, the barrier between their races. Woodlawn (name of the high school) has a very gifted player who sadly does not get to utilize his gift at first due to the fact that he is black. Racism is obviously not only an issue on this football team; it saturated throughout their school, community, and state. The coaching staff understands that there needs to be a desperate change, and thankfully, an outsider does too.

               A stranger walks into Woodlawn one day and actually ends up converting practically the whole team. During this scene, these young men devote themselves to Christ and to doing their best to look at others as actual human beings instead of a certain color.

               Although the team is trying their best to spark a change, it does not happen overnight, nor does it come easy. Slowly, but surely, however, outsiders start to notice this change within the team, and wonder how on earth this even came about.

               The movie itself is a Christian movie, and is VERY inspirational. I strongly recommend seeing it considering everything that is happening in our world today.

               There was a certain line in the movie that really stood out to me.

               “If you only love those who love you back, what kind of love is that?”

This quote lingered in my mind the rest of the movie, and has definitely been on the back burner of my mind sense then. So I thought, why not bring this bad boy to the front burner!!

               I think….I know we all struggle with this. It’s easy to love people who are nice, kind, considerate, and thoughtful. It’s easy to love our family (sometimes), friends, and teammates (again…sometimes). But what about those who maybe, don’t have the same views as us? Or better yet, those who maybe, don’t even like us?

               I know I definitely struggle with this and I was majorly convicted of this when I got back from Haiti. It was so easy to love those kids over there. They had nothing, but were still so sweet, innocent, and loving. Even if they were little punks, you wouldn’t even care because they just made your heart so full.

               When I got home, I found myself coming very close to strangling a little nugget who I watch for a family friend. (Not really, but I was definitely about to lose my temper).

               I caught myself and asked, why was it so easy to love those Haitian children, but so hard for me to love you right now? I should be giving the same love to you that I gave to them, despite your actions or my feelings.

That’s what we’re called to do, right?

I’ve noticed it since I moved up here as well. It’s hard for me to love the lady taking forever in the checkout line. It’s hard for me to love the man who almost rear ended me this morning. It’s EXTREMLEY hard for me to love some of the people at Mizzou right now.

Better yet, it’s hard, almost impossible, for blacks to love the white man who posted that he was going to kill black people.

But yet I think it’s our job to. That kind of unconditional love has graciously been given to us, so it is our job to give it back to others. No matter how hard it is.

               I’m no saint; I continuously struggle with this. However, I’m asking you guys to join me in this. This weekend and following week, I challenge you (trust me it will be a challenge) to love someone who is very hard to love.

I was journaling the other day about this topic and the following came to my mind:

We all have the desire to be loved and an obligation to love others.

We're all the same. We all want to be loved, some of us just have different mechanisms of trying to achieve it.

We're all the same

Sonia Klein

Holocaust survivor Sonia Klein visited Maryville University on Tuesday, November 10th. 

Some of our classmates were able to listen to the talk, and those who missed out were able to listen to our reactions. Although we had discussed her visit in What Do You Stand For?, I believe Sonia had a powerful story and message that should be documented. 

When Sonia was young she had dreams of becoming a teacher - that never happened because the war broke out when she was only 14 years old. Soon after, she and her family were forced into the Warsaw ghetto in Poland. Almost 400,000 people were shoved in an area where only 50,000 lived previously. She witnessed people dying every day, risked her life just to buy food at the grocery store, and lived in constant fear. In 1943, when Sonia was 17, she and her family were taken from their home to a concentration camp. Upon separation, her mother refused to let go of her young son's hand - it was the last time Sonia would see them.

At the camp, prisoners were no longer considered to be human beings. Sonia's head was shaved immediately after her arrival at Auschwitz. Her name was now a number. For two years Sonia was starved every single day. For two years she worked alongside her sister separating shoes every single day. For two years she attended roll call every single day. From February of 1945 to late March, over 1,000 women were forced into a death march. When the women were liberated by American troops, the shoes Sonia was wearing had to be cut from her feet. 

She survived the Warsaw ghetto, four concentration camps, and a death march. Now, at 90 years old she travels to speak about her experiences and talks to New York students on a weekly basis. She is compelled to speak about her past because her generation is aging. In a few years, all the survivors and liberators of the Holocaust will pass. She believes it is important to carry on their story. At the start of her speech, Sonia said "I'm reliving it, but it's a must for everyone to know what happened." While Sonia could simply write a memoir about her past, she likes speaking and connecting with other individuals in person. 

Sonia Klein mentioned something that really stuck with me:

"Do I read into hate? Yes. Do I hate? No. Do I forgive... How can I? I should forgive if I want forgiveness but my whole life was taken away."

This horrific event occurred only 70 years ago. 12 million people were murdered - 6 million of whom were Jewish. These innocent people lost their lives simply because of their religion, race, and sexuality. Many of those who were unaffected turned a blind eye - claiming they didn't know what was happening. It is so imperative that we do not forget the story of Sonia and the millions of Holocaust victims. We have to remember and educate about the events of past so that they do not occur in the future. I believe Sonia's story holds an even larger message: Be aware and spread awareness. If we do not discuss and educate about the issues going on in our world today there will never be a resolution to these problems. There are countless injustices that occur every day in our world. Even in the year of 2015 children are being sold in sex trafficking, families are living in poverty, some people of our time don't even have access to clean water. As individuals of this generation it is our responsibility to share our knowledge and spread awareness of the challenges we are facing. To overcome this injustices, we have to work together, sharing and educating for the past, present, and future. 

Daraja

Daraja is the Swahili translation for bridge. To most of you, that means nothing. But i will tell you why, to me, it means so much.

The Daraja Children's Choir of Africa is a group made up from Ugandan and Kenyan children whose ages range from about 8 years of age to 12 (ish) years of age. They travel the United States on a seven month tour and perform at churches all across the country. Wow, right? These young children leave their homes, their families, their communities, to come to an entirely different country.

Why? Because through this organization, they are able to receive leadership training and gain amazing experiences that they can take back with them and become little world-changers in their communities.

As they travel, they stay in the homes of families that attend the churches at which they perform, and my family has had the privilege of hosting the past two of the three years that they have come to Oak Bridge. With this experience of getting to know them personally for a few days, although they are here to be taught, they do the real teaching. At least, in my opinion.

They are FILLED with joy. They are thankful for everything and their thankfulness is reflected in everything they do. And I mean everything.

Getting to know them personally, I learned this past weekend from Rickin and Catherine both want to be nurses when they grow up. In America, that's a common and attainable dream. However for those two Ugandan girls, it would be a lot harder to attain. We have all kinds of opportunity here, but over there at their schools, there can be up to SIX students sharing a textbook. Not even to mention their teacher to student ratio. (Way too many students and not nearly enough teachers!!)

That's where Daraja and the 410 Bridge come in. The 410 Bridge is a sponsorship program, among other great things, but they created Daraja to be the "bridge" between East Africa and America.

When the precious Daraja children are here, they have the opportunity to be sponsored along with hundreds of other children in other places, including Haiti, through the 410 Bridge.

Daraja is the reason behind my desire to go to Africa one day, and I also want to be apart of the Daraja internship program and travel with the choir.

We talk about injustices in this class, but we have to do more than just talk about them. If we really want to make a difference, we have to do something about it. I believe that Daraja and the 410 Bridge are really making a difference in the lives of people world-wide. They provide opportunity and resources for those who otherwise wouldn't have many of either of those things.

Trying to Open Closed Minds

Does anyone ever feel like it’s near impossible to stand up for what you believe in if the people you are standing up against are family members? I have found in my life that my views differ incredibly from those of my family and those that my family are close too. I hear comments, see posts, and feel the general vibe that they all put out and it makes me very uncomfortable. To hear people I love saying that minimum wage workers don’t deserve health care, or that all “illegal aliens” should be deported. To hear that it is a “good thing those thugs are off the street now that they’re dead”. Knowing that the people that I love don’t believe that others should have the right to live comfortably, and deserve the poverty that they are trapped in. Hearing them say the n-word without flinching or stopping to consider the evil history of it. I feel like when I do try to stand up for what I believe to be basic human rights, they will all pounce on the opportunity to tell me I’m too liberal, and that I need be a bit more conservative. They tell me that “this is not how we raised you”.

“Elise, people who make their money deserve to keep it, and those lazy poor people just need to work hard and they’ll easily get out of poverty”.

“You know, if they just put down the crack pipe and stop complaining about ‘racism’, they might actually be successful”.

“Homelessness is a choice, Elise. If they really wanted to have money they would go out and make it instead of leeching off hard-working people like us”.

“The police aren’t racist.. You realize that, right? Black people are just more violent than other races.”

I struggle to keep my relationships with them strong, but I feel myself faltering sometimes when I realize how hateful and closed minded their opinions are. I feel like I’m screaming for them, but their heads are so full of sand that they don’t hear a damn thing. I'm so tired of trying to open closed minds.

Sucess At Last

In a previous post I talked about how I like to, unlike the average college kid, go back home to good ole De Soto on the weekends. I talked about how my favorite thing to do was go hunting but I was running short on time because of the wrestling season that was fast approaching.

So anyways, this past weekend I decided to try one last time before my first wrestling tournament. I went to my Dads on saturday night and planned to hunt on Sunday morning. So we did the usualy routine, such as waking up early and drinking cofee together before we had to start getting ready, but this time we decide to go to a different spot to hunt. We came to the conclusion that we would hunt together in a two man stand... yada yada yada. I dont need to explain every detail. Long story short, I got my first kill with a bow. I had shot and killed an eight pointer with my Dad right next to my side!

There are two morals of this story.

Sucess. It what motivates people. I was so motivated to get one deer I would drive an hour away on weekends just to try. But what did it take to be sucessful? Time and effort. If I look back, I tell myself I deserved to get that deer because of the time I put into trying. I know that it was just a deer but it was way more than that to me. It was sucess. I just want to say, if you are feeling unmotivated and unsuccessful just to never give up. I was starting to lose hope, but eventually sucess will find its way to you. Be positive.

Another moral of this story is to never take a moment for granted. In that moment when I killed my deer I was so happy, but not as happy as my Dad. He was smiling from ear to ear, and shaking out of his boots with joy. When we got back to the house my dad had said something that made my dad 100 times better. He said that he wouldnt trade that moment we had today for a million dollars and that it was moments like that that he looked forward to in life. When he said it, it hit me hard. One of the best feelings to me is when your parents are so proud of you. But he was right. Dont take any moment for granted, and enjoy them all.

Unplug

I believe that I live in a disconnected world despite the claim that technology connects us.

Since the introduction of mobile phones, people have become increasingly attached to their mobile devices. 90% of American adults own a cell phone - 60% of those cell phones are smartphones. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center shows that 84% of cell phone users claim they could not go a single day without their mobile device… I cannot be the only one who views this as an issue. It does not matter where I am - I see people invested into electronic devices and social media. Adults talking on the phone, teenagers tapping away on social media, toddlers on iPads. As a culture, we are submerged in a 2D world - where a screen replaces interaction with the world surrounding us. Insteading of living in the moment, we are distracted by the screens that lie in our hands. The constant use of electronics and social media has caused our attention to become brief and distracted - we jump from one platform to other checking on what our friends or “frenemies” are doing. Social media and our cellular devices have the potential to connect us, but we should avoid confusion ---- these outlets do not make us social. Instead of interacting with individuals standing next to us in line or sitting next to us on the bus, we focus on our cell phones - distracting ourselves by reading useless tweets and double-tapping instagram pictures. On the internet, we speak but are rarely listened to. We post for likes - seeking validation from the numbers. Social media has disconnected us from reality - we believe in artificial ideas and images because they infiltrate all of our media sources. Our culture is celebrity-obsessed. Not only do celebrities appear on television, magazines, news websites, but we follow them on social media. We watch documentaries about their lives, listen to them on talk-shows, follow their snapchat stories and instagram accounts, read about their diets and workout regimens. As a culture, we idolize individuals because they have beautiful bodies, wealth, and success. We gossip and talk about celebrities, or people we follow on social media as if we know them. The reality is that media only shows us a small percentage of what is real. We do not know the dreams, fears, ideas, thoughts of these individuals by what is posted about them online. On the same token, Bloggers, “instagram-celebrities”, and youtubers alike are paid to advertise products on their social media platforms. They are instructed what to say, how to pose, and even when to post. At what cost? Followers are tricked into believing in a “picture perfect” lifestyle - when in reality, pictures are contrived for the purpose of financial benefit or self-promotion.

I know many of those who are reading may not utilize media in the ways I have described. I am confident you know someone who does, or in the least have witnessed the effects of our technology-consumed world. Perhaps by reading this post, I will have encouraged you to consider your habits and the habits of those who surround you. By continuing down the spiral of this media-craze, we will only become more self-concerned and less connected with each other in the future.

My friends, change begins with a single action.

The solution is truly simple: detach from your electronic devices! Become comfortable with not using or having your cell phone. Avoid using your phone for distraction. Be mindful of what you spend your time doing and ask if such actions are productive. These devices are meant to be tools, but don’t prioritize their use over real life. We can connect with others online, but be mindful of which interacts are true. There are plenty of methods and ways to decrease your phone and social media usage. Dedicate the time you are spending away from media to something you truly enjoy! Whether that might be writing, hiking, playing a sport, reading, drawing, listening to music, hanging out with friends, or cooking a meal. ENJOY LIFE FOR WHAT IT IS!