Money Money Money!

There are many things in this world that I wish I had. Anyone that has been around me for more than a few minutes knows that I love cars (Ford Mustangs in particular). I can go on and on about how I would love to have one of these, simply because they have been an obsession of mine for as long as I can remember.  When I really think about it, my Ford Explorer gets me where I need to go, it's reliable, I can seat quite a few people when I need to, and it's a whole lot safer than some low-to-the-ground sports car that I would probably get too many tickets in anyways.

So what am I getting at here? There are many things in this world that people long for that they don't need. Media and popular culture these days revolve around money, possessions, and social status.  Many young children (and adults) are, at times, given the wrong perspectives of what are and what aren't necessities for life.  If you think about it, all the extras are just things to try and further peoples' happiness. Food is considered a necessity; however, spending $10 or $15 dollars everyday, by going out to eat is absurd. Some of the same things you can buy at a restaurant can be eaten for just fractions of the cost by staying home and cooking it yourself. I would know because I am a college student! I'm not saying that it's not o.k. to go enjoy yourself every once in a while, but if you save $5 dollars a day by eating at home, that's $150 dollars a month that could be spent on other things! 

Every Christmas, my old high-school youth group would get together, and do a gag-gift exchange; however, this last Christmas my brilliant youth leader decided to do something different. Instead of the $10 that we were normally supposed to spend on crap that would get thrown away, he had us all bring $5 but didn't tell us what it was for. When we reached our final destination after caroling at houses, he finally told us what that $5 was for. For the $125 or so that we had collected, we donated it to a charity that provides clean water and farm animals to villages in Africa. Although the reactions to gifts of Justin Beiber dolls and snuggies are funny, we felt so much better to know that kids in Africa weren't dying because we ridded the diseases from their water source by providing clean water to them and their families.

I wrote a minute ago that it was o.k. to treat yourself to special things every once in a while; however, we are truly blessed much more than we stop to think sometimes. I am fully guilty of this, because here I sit with a smartphone that probably just distracts me from more important things most of the time. It's just that we have so many possessions that are a waste of money most of the time. Even though we live in America and are one of the richest countries in the world, we long for more than we could ever possibly need! After all as you have probably heard..."He who dies with the most possessions...still dies!" Just something to think about!

Communication

I still like to keep in touch with many of my friends back home. There is only so much a person can do to keep in touch, without making the 2 hour drive to go and see them.  I have grown immensely, personality-wise, in the last couple of years. What this has done (and I am not afraid to admit it) has wholly changed the person that people see today. (Many of you who are reading this now, know exactly what I am talking about). I used to be the quiet  at the back of the class; however, now I am the one talking and making everyone laugh whenever I am around my friends or peers.

What I am getting at, is that by living so far away from my old friends, it is so hard to keep our friendship as strong as it would have been, back when I lived there.It is so hard to convey my emotions and personality through text messaging and Facebook! Don't get my wrong, these are extremely convenient ways of talking to people long distance (and even more so wasting countless hours of time, normally when I need to get something important done). Although these forms of communication are very, very convenient, they are often destructive to a person's personality that should be seen.

Back home, I could talk to someone for hours and still have them as interested in what I was saying as the minute I started; however, if I try messaging someone on Facebook or texting them, very crucial elements of communication are lost and their attention can only be held so long. I bet if you really thought about it, you didn't realize how often you actually use your hands, tone, volume and many other things to define your personality.

I believe that face-to-face communication, defines the person that I am today. I have learned some very good communication skills from both of my parents. My mom is a teacher and my dad is a manager of a big company. I really couldn't imagine my mother trying to teach her kindergartners through text messaging, or my dad trying to tell his employee how to do something through Facebook, because it's overly absurd.

Just something to think about!