The Best Things in Life are Free.
THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE.
Family! Friends! Love! Trust!
It sometimes takes effort, but it doesn’t cost a thing!
Our Military Boys
The average age of the military man is 19 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father’s, but he has never collected unemployment either.
He’s a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and a 155mm howitzer. He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk.
He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must. He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional. He can march until he is told to stop, or stop until he is told to march. He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity.
He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry. He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts. If you’re thirsty, he’ll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He’ll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low. He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands. He can save your life – or take it, because that is his job.
He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay, and still find ironic humor in it all. He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime. He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed.. He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to ‘square-away ‘ those around him who haven’t bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking. In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful. Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom.
Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is the American Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years. He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding. Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood.
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You guys are amazing.
Thank You.
xoxo
Paige
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Place in this world.
Grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to do the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.
Why we do what we do.
A little TLC goes a long way.
There’s a small percent of us in the world who just want to do right. We have a wild side, like everybody else on the planet, but we also had an affectionate side. All we want to do is make you smile. We want to brighten your day, lift your crazy mood swings, calm you down, or just have a little fun.
Many people out there go on with their day, just to sleep it off and do it again. How often do you think to yourself “What am I doing here [on this earth]?” Why are you here? Even if you cant come up with an answer, shouldnt you at least try to figure it out?
My [personal] goal in life is to inspire people. I want to positively influence everybody that I ever meet. I want people to remember me as “the person who never let me down,” “the person who never left my side when I needed them,” “the person who was always there for me,” and “the person who showed me that there was more to life than this.”
If you haven’t already, think about it. What’s your story?
Take It All In
I’ve come to realize over these past few years, that we cannot sit around and wait for our life to happen. It doesn’t work like that. You have to take the initiative, take the first step, and follow through with the things you desire, and the things you want to accomplish.
When I was little, I didn’t know what I wanted to be ‘when I grow up’. All I wanted was to have a good time. When I was in middle school, I started considering this and that. High school came around, and I was so into having a good time, I didn’t consider what I wanted to do with my future at all. I just wanted to let it happen, maybe work for a few years, have a little fun, whatever. I was never cut out for school, I was more of a social butterfly than an academics major. So, of course, I assumed I wasn’t cut out for college either.
I graduated high school and worked for a year (and I also got married young, to my high school sweetheart, which is about the only thing I had planned since I was little). In that year I realized I hadn’t taken life seriously when I should have, I jumped to conclusions and told myself that I was not cut out for college, and that I’ll just swing life away. First of all, if you cut to conclusions so quickly, you will never know what you’re capable of, because you’ll never give anything a shot. Second, you can’t just swing life away, because when you get older, and grow some nerve, you’ll think back on your life and ask yourself, “what did I accomplish? Anything?”
When we get so caught up in life, we waltz on by like whatever, and forget to smell the roses. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “You only get to live every day once,” or “Live like there’s no tomorrow,” or something of the sort. Well, we hear it so often, that we lose its value. Pay attention, we don’t quote this because we’re bored. LIVE EVERY DAY LIKE ITS YOUR LAST. We can’t always expect tomorrow! Martin Luther King had a dream, and he saw it through. If he didn’t who knows where our diverse America would stand.
My point is this: If you sit on your butt all day, whether it be at work going nowhere, at home being lazy, or at school with no dreams, our world will collapse, or at least yours will.
Parents Vs. the Kid- Who really does know it all?
Have you ever noticed, that no matter how a mother and/or father raise their children, they all end up exactly alike? (…with the exception of a few out there with real morals, and are also the most hard to find.)
As much as they want their child to grow up into a good kid with good grades, good friends, and a good relationship with family, they’re all set. Nobody intends on their child turning into a 21st century clone, who looks and acts like the rest of the kids that attend the high school down the road. No. Parents teach their children morals, guidelines, life lessons, how to this, how to that, and this and that, everything a child needs to know to walk away knowledgeable of the streets they’ll enter when it comes time.
Some parents play the strict role, and make sure than the kid stays in line for 17 years, with consequenses, and limited access to everything, including hanging out with their friends, and getting a ride to practice on time. Kids who live under this construction zone feel bound, all they want to do is get out, get away from all the rules, and live their own life. By the time their 17 and they have one more year to get out of that place, they’re trying hard already to leave. Their sneaking out, rebelling, meeting new people who are like themselves and can relate. When they get out, all they want to do is relieve the hurt, push aside the rules, and forget about everything. What’s the most one could think of? With kids these days, it’s not too hard, they experiment, try new things: drugs, alcohol, sex, etc. Is this what the parents had in mind when all they wanted was to raise their child with the morals and responsibilities they did?
Some parents just want to be the cool parents- the cool mom, or the cool dad. It would be the worst feeling in the world, to them, if their child turned against them, so they just revert back to high school. When they do, they can relate to their son or daughter– only they play the role too well, and forget that their job is to parent their children, not befriend them. When this happens, the parent starts to miss the beat, and their child wanders off with their friends, experiementing, being the cool kid with the cool parents. When the kid wants something, they ask their parents, knowing well enough that it really shouldn’t be a question, because they know they’ll get it anyway, because the parents are ‘so cool.’ The way I see it, the kid has got the parents wrapped around their finger.
Then there are parents who aren’t aggressive enough, and the word ‘no’ isn’t even in their vocabulary. They are trying to be the ‘cool’ parents, but all they’re really doing is failing to rule as the aggressors. They give in too easily, and the child knows that they’ll get their way no matter what. The child will manipulate the parents, tell them things, twist their minds a little bit at a time, make up a few stories, and before you know it, their on their way to the kegger at so-and-so’s house. Don’t forget they need to stop at the bank and pull out a few bills to pay for the bag from so-and-so. When it comes to rules in this house, they turn out to be an imaginary list of words that make no sense.
And the parents wonder where they went wrong!
So I’ve decided, that my kids (when I have kids) wont have crazy parents, or cool parents, or parents that are too dull to know what’s going on. Their parents will stay in the loop, but give the kids space, as well as take from them what is wrong, and fill them with morals that should only end in a smart decision when they’re 18. When that day comes, I need to understand that I’ve taught them as best I know how, and trust that they will make the right choices. They’ll probably come and ask for help once in awhile, and that’s ok, because it only means that I did a good job, and they trust that I’ll have the knowledge they need to help them again.
Stereotype Be
So, I met this guy today in the parking lot at Dominicks. He was tall, dressed in a light colored striped suit and slacks. I’m not one to just go and talk to random people at the supermarket. But you feel obligated to, after a slight collision.
I was carefully parking the truck, and on the other side, he was backing out. The sun was pretty low at this point, just low enough to blind a person for a few seconds at a time. This is why he backed into me. When he and I heard the collision, we parked and got out of our vehicles. I noticed he was driving somewhat of a new Hyundai, and I thought oh boy this could get ugly… I smiled and said “How’s your car!?” Right away he started to explain to me that as he was backing out, the glare of the sun got in his eyes, and how he was blinded for a moment and could not see. Then he went on to apologize, and told me how he should have checked for clearance once more. Just short of shocked, I laughed and told him my truck is alright, and it’s pretty beat up, another hit wont hurt, and again I asked about his car, the small dent he had just accumulated, and if there was anything I could do. He smiled, told me that it was no problem, and asked one more time if my truck was okay and if there was anything that needed to be taken care of. Again, I assured him it was alright. Then he said “Well ma’am if you’re good to go, than I’m good to go too.” Okay, now I was in shock!
No insurance, no exchange of numbers, plates, nothing but our first names and a hand shake, to be courteous. Just when you think the world is coming to a drastic end with all these crazies, these mindless business people, and these careless teenagers, none of which could care less about anybody but themselves, you meet someone different. Someone who cares about somebody other than themself!
This guy was in a suit and slacks, driving a fairly new–and beautiful I might add–Hyundai, dark blue with silver trim, and chrome rims. Anybody out there would stereotype a guy like this to be a stuck up jerk who thinks he has it all together, when in reality, he was the nicest man I’ve met out here in the strange town!
I wish I could decyfer an angel from a really really nice man in a suit…
Get to know that stranger, they just might know a thing or two!
WOW!
The feeling of talking to someone who sincerely cares is so refreshing!
It’s not like your daily meaningless conversation, it has… pizzaz!
There are those I grew close to, those I called best friends, and those I would call aquaintences. The ones I really, truely admire, are the ones I met once or twice, who I never really knew too well. The few that people categorize as ‘weird’ or ‘quiet,’ ‘shy’ or ‘intimidating.’ The ‘band geeks,’ or ‘theater weirdos.’ Have you ever taken your time to talk to or get to know them? They are outstanding. I think it’s because they don’t try for their lives to fit in with the rest of their peers. The way I see it, they are as normal as anyone else on the planet, only, more appealing, because they’re original! They’re the ones who add the spice to life!
How Do You Define the Undefined?
I look like your average citizen. I blend really well, but I also know how to stand out. I’m pretty hard to read, even harder to stereotype. I’m the most mature young adult you’ve ever met, as well as the most careless, carefree crazy young person you’ve ever laid eyes on. I can relate to just about anyone, and this is what I meant when I said I blend really well. If you saw me wandering around the mall or wherever, you’d think I was your typical teenage girl with nothing more to do that night than homework.
In reality, I’m still trying to define myself. And actually, I believe that we don’t find ourselves, we create ourselves. So far, I’ve come up with the most unusual concoction.
I have a niche for sarcasm, which has gotten me in trouble countless times growing up. But I also have a thing for staying genuinely interested in my close friends and families lives. I like to help and give advice whenever possible. I like to get into their psych, see where they’re coming from. I tend to give them a little slack when others are giving them crap and telling them to move on with their lives. This is what encourages people to trust me the way they do.
Many people would define me as a sarcastic girl who has nothing better to do than to go around and make jokes about things that should be taken seriously. A girl who has not a care in the world, and doesn’t know what she wants in life. How do you undefine the defined?
How do you define the undefined? You cant put a label on someone with so many characteristics, characteristics that are so extremely different from each other. It’s not multiple personality disorder, or bi-polar. But, what is it?
