I believe in saying “I love you” to my friends because friends are always there during good and bad times and therefore, they should never be taken for granted. I believe it is important to let your friends know how much you appreciate them because you never know when you might lose them. What if your friend suddenly and unexpectedly passed away? Wouldn’t it give you a little bit of comfort if the last thing you said to them was “I love you”? You would more than likely feel better knowing that your friend died knowing that he was loved and cared for by his friend.
When I say “I love you” to my friends it’s more of a strong like or my way of expressing kindness verses it meaning that I am in love with my friends. I believe in saying “I love you” to my friends because a simple word like love can do some much good for other people. Love is a word that can brighten people’s lives by making them happy when they are sad. I believe that love should be given by everyone because love is a renewable resource. So when one person shows love or says “I love you” to someone, that someone may enjoy that feeling so much that they do the same to someone else. I believe that love is something that is not said or spread enough. So I believe in saying “I love you” to my friends in order to spread my love to others and hopefully reduce all the hate everyone has for each other. Overall, love is good for the human soul and is essential for us to live enjoyable lives. It is impossible for someone to be happy if no one loves them or if they do not love anyone else.
I have only started saying “I love you” to my friends about two years ago when I was a junior in high school. I had three best friends; their names were Brooke, Mandy, and Megan. My friend Megan was a senior at the time. I have always looked up to Megan because she is a very smart, funny, and out spoken person. When we first became friends, we would talk on the phone frequently. After a couple of months our friendship grew stronger and one day before we got off the phone she said “much love”. I did not know exactly how to respond, so I awkwardly replied back with a “yeah, love you too”. After that awkward moment, we then said “bye” and hung up the phone. I sat there for a moment and thought it was weird how she said that. I wondered if said the right thing back or if she did not expect me to say anything at all. So I was not sure what to say the next time she said that to me.
From that phone call on she always said “much love” before we hung up the phone and in time said “I love you” to me. As she continued to say this, I would always respond by saying “I love you too” and it gradually became less awkward. We eventually got to the point to where we would say it when we said goodbye in person and even to our friends Brooke and Mandy as well. I became so comfortable with it, that I would say it to them too.
At the time I had a boyfriend named Wes and he often heard me saying “I love you” to my friends. He felt the same way I did at first and thought it was strange how we said that to each other. He asked me why we did it and I did not really know exactly. I just told him that I say it because they started to say it to me first. Then one day Wes, Megan, Brooke, Mandy, and I were all at Megan’s house. I do not remember why we started to talk about it, but Wes asked Megan why she says “I love you” to her friends. She told him because she really does love them and you never know if that will be the last time you get to talk to them ever again. This made a great deal of since to me and it changed the way I thought about saying “I love you” to my friends.
Before I would say it and not actually mean it. I was not trying to lie to them when I said it, but I was more so just saying it so I would not hurt their feelings by not saying anything back and I still sort of believed it was an awkward thing to say to your friends. But now that I thought about it that way, I would say “I love you” to my friends and be totally sincere.
I am extremely thankful that Megan started saying “I love you” to me because it gave me a greater appreciation for my friends. I used to take friendship for granted because I never thought about being able to lose my friends at anytime. But something like that is very possible so I now take it into consideration and as a result tell my friends I love them.
Although, I believe saying “I love you” to your friends can do so much more than just give you a better appreciation for your friendship. It can cheer someone up when they are feeling down, it can make your friendships stronger, or it can give someone comfort when they are feeling lonely. I believe that love can accomplish all of these things and much more. I believe that everyone should tell their friends that they love them so that no one feels unwanted or unappreciated. I believe that if everyone told their friends they love them, the world would be a better place to live in because it would decrease the amount of hate everyone has and increase the cheer in everyone’s lives.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Professional Athletes Are Overpaid
Professional athletes are among the most wealthy and well known people in the United States and around the world. Athletes such as Derek Jeter, Michael Jordan, Peyton Manning, and Tiger Woods are all admired by millions of people for their impressive athletic abilities. Most professional athletes are very talented, dedicated, and very hard workers. But do they truly deserve all the praise people give them and multimillion dollar contracts simply because they are good at playing sports? Some athletes truly do not, because even while knowing they are being looked up to by thousands of young boys and girls, they still set bad examples. But regardless of if they are good role models or not, no one should be paid millions of dollars merely because they are good at playing sports.
Most professional athletes worked very hard throughout their lives to end up on the teams they are on today. Then once they make the team, they most likely still work very hard by exercising vigorously in practice and weight rooms, trying their hardest on game days, and doing what they can on a regular basis to improve themselves. Although this takes much commitment and hard, physical work, they do not deserve millions of dollars for it. This year, the median salary in the NFL is around $770,000 for one season! The Washington Redskins have the highest payroll at $123 million and the New York Giants have the lowest at $76 million. The national average that a teacher makes in one year is $53,000.
It is not logical for someone who is playing football, basketball or any other sport to be making hundreds of thousands more a year than a teacher who helps out other people on a day to day basis. Professional athletes do nothing to improve the lives of others—other than themselves and their teammates—when they do their jobs. All they do for other people while on the job is to entertain. Other professions such as a nurse, firefighter, police officer, or teacher help others on a daily basis, possibly risking their own lives, and still do not get as much credit, respect, or money as people who play sports for a living. But to many Americans, sports and entertainment have a greater priority over these people and therefore professional athletes are well paid and well known.
As a result, professional athletes are treated like celebrities, and unfortunately can get away with doing practically anything. One example was when a NFL player murdered a man and only received a slap on the wrist. In June of 2009, Donte Stallworth of the Cleveland Browns was sentenced to thirty days in jail for manslaughter after making a confidential, financial settlement with the family of the victim. Donte was driving after a night of drinking in Miami Beach and hit Mario Reyes, age 59 while he was on his way to the bus stop after getting off from work. Although this was an accident, it was an accident that was caused by and illegal action by Stallworth. He could have faced up to fifteen years in prison, but because he co-operated and had the money to make a settlement, he was treated differently.
Unfortunately cases like this occur all the time with professional athletes and rich and famous people. It is not fair for people to be treated differently (especially when it comes to the law) only because they are rich and famous. If anyone else in the general public, who was not wealthy, had committed the same crime, they would have had to carry out the jail sentence. Something needs to be done to stop these kinds of things from happening because this is not true justice. Also, professional athletes need to be more aware of what they are doing because there are millions of people—including young children—who look up to them.
Professional athletes are role models for young boys and girls everywhere and should take that into consideration before they do things they really should not be doing. Several athletes have set bad examples for children by doing drugs, being involved in shootings, taking steroids, and participating in many other illegal activities. One example was when Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps was caught in a photograph of him smoking marijuana.
The picture was released three months after he won a record of eight gold medals in the Beijing games and it was broadcasted on the news and online everywhere. Many young children most likely saw this and were either disappointed or it may have encouraged some to try it because they just witnessed their favorite athlete doing it. Although, several professional athletes learn from their mistakes and usually turn themselves around by correcting their behavior. Others do not even do anything wrong at all and make great role models for kids.
There are several professional athletes who make great role models by performing well in games, expressing good sportsmanship, donating to charities, and getting involved in their communities. All professional athletes should behave this way because they have such great influences on the lives of other people. Although even if they are great athletes and role models, they still do not deserve to make as much money as they do and they should not be treated differently than the general public when it comes to the law.
It is sad that in society today our priorities are so messed up that we give those who play sports for a living, hundreds of thousands more a year than other people who make a difference in the world every day. If we lived in a world without professional sports to entertain us, life would be a little more boring, but we would live on. But if we lived in a world without doctors, firefighters, policemen, teachers, or construction workers, life as we know it would cease to exist. Paying professional athletes as much as we do is ethically wrong and we should give other people such as teachers the respect and payroll they deserve, because they make a difference in the lives of others every day.
Most professional athletes worked very hard throughout their lives to end up on the teams they are on today. Then once they make the team, they most likely still work very hard by exercising vigorously in practice and weight rooms, trying their hardest on game days, and doing what they can on a regular basis to improve themselves. Although this takes much commitment and hard, physical work, they do not deserve millions of dollars for it. This year, the median salary in the NFL is around $770,000 for one season! The Washington Redskins have the highest payroll at $123 million and the New York Giants have the lowest at $76 million. The national average that a teacher makes in one year is $53,000.
It is not logical for someone who is playing football, basketball or any other sport to be making hundreds of thousands more a year than a teacher who helps out other people on a day to day basis. Professional athletes do nothing to improve the lives of others—other than themselves and their teammates—when they do their jobs. All they do for other people while on the job is to entertain. Other professions such as a nurse, firefighter, police officer, or teacher help others on a daily basis, possibly risking their own lives, and still do not get as much credit, respect, or money as people who play sports for a living. But to many Americans, sports and entertainment have a greater priority over these people and therefore professional athletes are well paid and well known.
As a result, professional athletes are treated like celebrities, and unfortunately can get away with doing practically anything. One example was when a NFL player murdered a man and only received a slap on the wrist. In June of 2009, Donte Stallworth of the Cleveland Browns was sentenced to thirty days in jail for manslaughter after making a confidential, financial settlement with the family of the victim. Donte was driving after a night of drinking in Miami Beach and hit Mario Reyes, age 59 while he was on his way to the bus stop after getting off from work. Although this was an accident, it was an accident that was caused by and illegal action by Stallworth. He could have faced up to fifteen years in prison, but because he co-operated and had the money to make a settlement, he was treated differently.
Unfortunately cases like this occur all the time with professional athletes and rich and famous people. It is not fair for people to be treated differently (especially when it comes to the law) only because they are rich and famous. If anyone else in the general public, who was not wealthy, had committed the same crime, they would have had to carry out the jail sentence. Something needs to be done to stop these kinds of things from happening because this is not true justice. Also, professional athletes need to be more aware of what they are doing because there are millions of people—including young children—who look up to them.
Professional athletes are role models for young boys and girls everywhere and should take that into consideration before they do things they really should not be doing. Several athletes have set bad examples for children by doing drugs, being involved in shootings, taking steroids, and participating in many other illegal activities. One example was when Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps was caught in a photograph of him smoking marijuana.
The picture was released three months after he won a record of eight gold medals in the Beijing games and it was broadcasted on the news and online everywhere. Many young children most likely saw this and were either disappointed or it may have encouraged some to try it because they just witnessed their favorite athlete doing it. Although, several professional athletes learn from their mistakes and usually turn themselves around by correcting their behavior. Others do not even do anything wrong at all and make great role models for kids.
There are several professional athletes who make great role models by performing well in games, expressing good sportsmanship, donating to charities, and getting involved in their communities. All professional athletes should behave this way because they have such great influences on the lives of other people. Although even if they are great athletes and role models, they still do not deserve to make as much money as they do and they should not be treated differently than the general public when it comes to the law.
It is sad that in society today our priorities are so messed up that we give those who play sports for a living, hundreds of thousands more a year than other people who make a difference in the world every day. If we lived in a world without professional sports to entertain us, life would be a little more boring, but we would live on. But if we lived in a world without doctors, firefighters, policemen, teachers, or construction workers, life as we know it would cease to exist. Paying professional athletes as much as we do is ethically wrong and we should give other people such as teachers the respect and payroll they deserve, because they make a difference in the lives of others every day.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Virginia Tech and Boston College
Saturday, October 10th was the homecoming football game for Virginia Tech. They played against Boston College and the final score was forty eight to fourteen, with the Hokies coming out as the victor. Once this game was over, it was discussed on ESPN and written about in several newspapers. I chose one particular article from the Washington Post website titled, “Hokies Hound Boston College in 48-14 Win” by Mark Viera to write a rhetorical analysis on. The article was very well written but had some minor flaws that may have pushed some readers away.
In this article, there were two main ideas the author wanted to get across: explain how well Virginia Tech played on Saturday and that Virginia Tech has a big challenge ahead of them. Both of these have a similar purpose of informing the audience of Virginia Tech’s overall standing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), with the focal point being the game they had just played on Saturday against Boston College. Since the article was based on a topic such as football, the author most likely was not writing to a general audience.
The audience who would most likely read this article and have the most interest in it would include: college football fans, but mainly Virginia Tech or Boston College fans. Knowing this, the author should keep in mind that any college football fan could be reading his article and therefore he should not favor Virginia Tech or Boston College. If the author is being biased while writing on a topic such as this, it can easily make an audience lose interest or even make some angry. Many people have a lot of pride in their favorite football team and some may be easily offended if the author is writing bad remarks about their team. If the author is being biased and talking down on a team it is very noticeable in the word choice and technique of the article.
The techniques this author mainly uses in this article are logos and ethos. In his writing the author uses logos arguments by explaining specific facts about the game. The author explains to the audience key plays throughout the game which include how many yards were gained of lost and other specific details that gives readers some knowledge of what went on in the game. He also included specific achievements or failed attempts of certain players, to show how they may have affected the outcome of the game. The author also included with in his article, the rankings of Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech and the current seasonal record for Virginia Tech and Boston College. This tells the audience how well each of the teams are doing so far in the season. Because the author uses so many facts, it makes him seem like he has a lot of knowledge about the game and both of the teams, which makes him more trustworthy.
The other technique the author used—ethos—made him a little less trustworthy. Although the author had all of his facts correct, he seemed to have his own agenda. It seems throughout the article that the author slightly favors Virginia Tech because they were the winning team, but he tries to cover it up by saying that Virginia Tech has “not always played consistently enough to warrant entry in the championship conversation”. But this is the only time the author talks negatively about Virginia Tech and the rest of the article seems to put down Boston College because they lost. This becomes more obvious once you take a closer look at the word choice and tone of the author.
When the author referred to Virginia Tech players or their performances he used very optimistic words. Some of the words he used to describe them include “efficient”, “impressive”, “positive”, “businesslike”, “dazzling”, and “crisp”. All of these words and the way he puts them into a sentence make it seem like the author is speaking in a tone that is favoring Virginia Tech. Furthermore, once the writer starts to talk about Boston College, the tone seems to become negative. He refers to Boston College being “in a daze as [they] tried to figure out the Hokies’ defense”. This makes it sound like Boson had no clue what was going on in the situation they were in and this type of language could possibly offend someone. The author also used words such as “hound” and “snuffed” to explain how badly they lost to Virginia Tech. These words may have not been the best for the author to choose because it could have turned the audience off by making them angry, so therefore he should consider being more courteous and aware of his audience.
One other minor flaw in this article was the way the author presented his argument. In his first paragraph he says how Virginia Tech’s football team watches the films of other teams. This makes the opening very weak because it is irrelevant to the rest of the article. Then in the second and third paragraphs, the author starts to talk about Virginia Tech’s next “big challenge” Georgia Tech. These paragraphs are out of place because he only says a couple things about the game against Georgia Tech, including a quote from a Virginia Tech football player, then all of a sudden starts to talk about the game against Boston College, and then later refers back to the game against Georgia Tech near the end of the article. The piece would flow much better and be more organized if the author had talked about the game against Boston College first and then talked about their next game to come against Georgia Tech at the end of the article.
Overall the article was written well except for some minor flaws that may have pushed away some audiences. The words the author chose to describe the game and players were creative, but they may have been offensive to those who are not Virginia Tech fans. Although it can be a challenge to write an article that does not sound like it is favoring the winner, but I think this author could have seemed less biased by pointing out some good things that Boston College did in the game and changing the title of the article.
In this article, there were two main ideas the author wanted to get across: explain how well Virginia Tech played on Saturday and that Virginia Tech has a big challenge ahead of them. Both of these have a similar purpose of informing the audience of Virginia Tech’s overall standing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), with the focal point being the game they had just played on Saturday against Boston College. Since the article was based on a topic such as football, the author most likely was not writing to a general audience.
The audience who would most likely read this article and have the most interest in it would include: college football fans, but mainly Virginia Tech or Boston College fans. Knowing this, the author should keep in mind that any college football fan could be reading his article and therefore he should not favor Virginia Tech or Boston College. If the author is being biased while writing on a topic such as this, it can easily make an audience lose interest or even make some angry. Many people have a lot of pride in their favorite football team and some may be easily offended if the author is writing bad remarks about their team. If the author is being biased and talking down on a team it is very noticeable in the word choice and technique of the article.
The techniques this author mainly uses in this article are logos and ethos. In his writing the author uses logos arguments by explaining specific facts about the game. The author explains to the audience key plays throughout the game which include how many yards were gained of lost and other specific details that gives readers some knowledge of what went on in the game. He also included specific achievements or failed attempts of certain players, to show how they may have affected the outcome of the game. The author also included with in his article, the rankings of Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech and the current seasonal record for Virginia Tech and Boston College. This tells the audience how well each of the teams are doing so far in the season. Because the author uses so many facts, it makes him seem like he has a lot of knowledge about the game and both of the teams, which makes him more trustworthy.
The other technique the author used—ethos—made him a little less trustworthy. Although the author had all of his facts correct, he seemed to have his own agenda. It seems throughout the article that the author slightly favors Virginia Tech because they were the winning team, but he tries to cover it up by saying that Virginia Tech has “not always played consistently enough to warrant entry in the championship conversation”. But this is the only time the author talks negatively about Virginia Tech and the rest of the article seems to put down Boston College because they lost. This becomes more obvious once you take a closer look at the word choice and tone of the author.
When the author referred to Virginia Tech players or their performances he used very optimistic words. Some of the words he used to describe them include “efficient”, “impressive”, “positive”, “businesslike”, “dazzling”, and “crisp”. All of these words and the way he puts them into a sentence make it seem like the author is speaking in a tone that is favoring Virginia Tech. Furthermore, once the writer starts to talk about Boston College, the tone seems to become negative. He refers to Boston College being “in a daze as [they] tried to figure out the Hokies’ defense”. This makes it sound like Boson had no clue what was going on in the situation they were in and this type of language could possibly offend someone. The author also used words such as “hound” and “snuffed” to explain how badly they lost to Virginia Tech. These words may have not been the best for the author to choose because it could have turned the audience off by making them angry, so therefore he should consider being more courteous and aware of his audience.
One other minor flaw in this article was the way the author presented his argument. In his first paragraph he says how Virginia Tech’s football team watches the films of other teams. This makes the opening very weak because it is irrelevant to the rest of the article. Then in the second and third paragraphs, the author starts to talk about Virginia Tech’s next “big challenge” Georgia Tech. These paragraphs are out of place because he only says a couple things about the game against Georgia Tech, including a quote from a Virginia Tech football player, then all of a sudden starts to talk about the game against Boston College, and then later refers back to the game against Georgia Tech near the end of the article. The piece would flow much better and be more organized if the author had talked about the game against Boston College first and then talked about their next game to come against Georgia Tech at the end of the article.
Overall the article was written well except for some minor flaws that may have pushed away some audiences. The words the author chose to describe the game and players were creative, but they may have been offensive to those who are not Virginia Tech fans. Although it can be a challenge to write an article that does not sound like it is favoring the winner, but I think this author could have seemed less biased by pointing out some good things that Boston College did in the game and changing the title of the article.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
There's No Place Like Home
When I left to go to college at Virginia Tech I was very excited but at the same time I was worried about a lot of different things. I was nervous about if I was going to get along with my roommate or not, if I was going to be able to earn good grades, if I was going to get homesick, and many other things that come along with moving into a new environment such as college. Thankfully, I have meet some great girls in my hall that I really get along with—including my roommate—and I am working really hard to try to get good grades. I have been keeping in touch with my family and I am usually very busy with school work and other things so I have not really gotten homesick. Then one weekend I went home.
When I finally got to see my dog, my family, and my house itself, I became really happy to see them again. This made me very homesick because I had not realized how much I had missed all of those things. In a way it made me not want to go back to Virginia Tech. But I just kept telling myself that I will be able to come back soon and all of these things will be here waiting for me when I do.
My home has always been a place of comfort and rest for me. This is mainly because I had loving parents, two awesome older sisters, and my house was in between two mountain ranges which made it very secluded. The community in which our house is located in is known as Fort Valley. We are so secluded from everything around us that the nearest hospital is forty five minutes away. Because we are so secluded, my mother decided to give birth to me and one of my sisters in our house with the assistance of just a midwife. This gives me an even greater connection to my home because not only was I raised there for the past eighteen years, but I was actually born there. Having been born and raised in the country has given me many great memories of my childhood. But before I get into my childhood memories, I would like to explain one of the reasons why I love my home so much. One of the best parts about growing up in the location that I did, was the beautiful scenery.
Fort Valley is a beautiful place to live in or even visit. As you drive into Fort Valley, you first start to see the tree covered mountains to your left and right grow taller as you get closer and closer; then a tunnel of trees suddenly surrounds the road. As you drive further down the winding road, to your right is a rock wall of one mountain and to your left is a rippling creek. Directly beside the creek is the ridge of the other mountain. When you take a glance at the top of it, there are huge rocks that create a cliff and a spectacular view. There are beautiful sights like this all along Fort Valley that people enjoy driving through to go see on Sunday afternoons. The scenery of Fort Valley is actually quite similar to the countryside at Virginia Tech; which does help me feel a little less homesick. Although it is just not the same as being back at home because of all the wonderful memories I have in Fort Valley.
Most of the great memories I have from when I was growing up had to do with being raised in a rural community. I enjoyed growing up in a small, rural community because I had the opportunity to experience “country living”. By this I mean I was always outside doing things like climbing in trees or on rocks, taking walks through the woods looking for mushrooms, fishing, hunting (yes I hunted for three seasons when I was younger), riding four wheelers and bicycles, and various other types of outdoor activities. I loved growing up in the country as a kid because there was always something like this to do outside.
Another thing I loved about growing up in the county was how the land was so plentiful. My parents grew a garden every year with plenty of crops, such as tomatoes, onions, potatoes, lettuce, green beans, peas, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, blue berries, and so many other fruits and vegetables. Having fruits and vegetables right out of the garden tastes so much better than store bought food because it is so fresh.
My dad also raises chickens, so we always have fresh eggs as well; which definitely taste a lot better than eggs you buy from the grocery store. But of course the best part of living in the country (and with a hunter) is eating venison. There are so many things you can make with it: steaks, hamburger, jerky, or bologna and it all tastes so good. I am very glad I grew up in the country because if I had not, then I may have never gotten the chance to eat any of these things or experience the outdoors like I had.
Growing up in Fort Valley gave me many opportunities to try so many things that a lot of young girls would not even think about doing. My childhood at my home had a huge impact on who I am today by making me a country girl at heart. By this I mean I do not freak out every time I see a spider like some girls do and I am more of an outdoors kind of person.
Going back home was somewhat sad for me because I miss all of the home cooked meals from right out of the garden and the peace and quiet of the wilderness. But I am going to have to start getting used to living on my own without the comfort of my parents or my home and start living in the real world. Although, I will never forget the first eighteen years of my life that I spent in Fort Valley and all the things I learned while I was there.
When I finally got to see my dog, my family, and my house itself, I became really happy to see them again. This made me very homesick because I had not realized how much I had missed all of those things. In a way it made me not want to go back to Virginia Tech. But I just kept telling myself that I will be able to come back soon and all of these things will be here waiting for me when I do.
My home has always been a place of comfort and rest for me. This is mainly because I had loving parents, two awesome older sisters, and my house was in between two mountain ranges which made it very secluded. The community in which our house is located in is known as Fort Valley. We are so secluded from everything around us that the nearest hospital is forty five minutes away. Because we are so secluded, my mother decided to give birth to me and one of my sisters in our house with the assistance of just a midwife. This gives me an even greater connection to my home because not only was I raised there for the past eighteen years, but I was actually born there. Having been born and raised in the country has given me many great memories of my childhood. But before I get into my childhood memories, I would like to explain one of the reasons why I love my home so much. One of the best parts about growing up in the location that I did, was the beautiful scenery.
Fort Valley is a beautiful place to live in or even visit. As you drive into Fort Valley, you first start to see the tree covered mountains to your left and right grow taller as you get closer and closer; then a tunnel of trees suddenly surrounds the road. As you drive further down the winding road, to your right is a rock wall of one mountain and to your left is a rippling creek. Directly beside the creek is the ridge of the other mountain. When you take a glance at the top of it, there are huge rocks that create a cliff and a spectacular view. There are beautiful sights like this all along Fort Valley that people enjoy driving through to go see on Sunday afternoons. The scenery of Fort Valley is actually quite similar to the countryside at Virginia Tech; which does help me feel a little less homesick. Although it is just not the same as being back at home because of all the wonderful memories I have in Fort Valley.
Most of the great memories I have from when I was growing up had to do with being raised in a rural community. I enjoyed growing up in a small, rural community because I had the opportunity to experience “country living”. By this I mean I was always outside doing things like climbing in trees or on rocks, taking walks through the woods looking for mushrooms, fishing, hunting (yes I hunted for three seasons when I was younger), riding four wheelers and bicycles, and various other types of outdoor activities. I loved growing up in the country as a kid because there was always something like this to do outside.
Another thing I loved about growing up in the county was how the land was so plentiful. My parents grew a garden every year with plenty of crops, such as tomatoes, onions, potatoes, lettuce, green beans, peas, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, blue berries, and so many other fruits and vegetables. Having fruits and vegetables right out of the garden tastes so much better than store bought food because it is so fresh.
My dad also raises chickens, so we always have fresh eggs as well; which definitely taste a lot better than eggs you buy from the grocery store. But of course the best part of living in the country (and with a hunter) is eating venison. There are so many things you can make with it: steaks, hamburger, jerky, or bologna and it all tastes so good. I am very glad I grew up in the country because if I had not, then I may have never gotten the chance to eat any of these things or experience the outdoors like I had.
Growing up in Fort Valley gave me many opportunities to try so many things that a lot of young girls would not even think about doing. My childhood at my home had a huge impact on who I am today by making me a country girl at heart. By this I mean I do not freak out every time I see a spider like some girls do and I am more of an outdoors kind of person.
Going back home was somewhat sad for me because I miss all of the home cooked meals from right out of the garden and the peace and quiet of the wilderness. But I am going to have to start getting used to living on my own without the comfort of my parents or my home and start living in the real world. Although, I will never forget the first eighteen years of my life that I spent in Fort Valley and all the things I learned while I was there.
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