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I commented on Alexandra's Blog "Transition of BFFs"

 http://justblogit7.blogspot.com/2008/11/transition-of-bffs.html

Change is good.

For all of us college students, Thanksgiving break was a time to spend time with family members, see high school friends, and eat a lot of food!  I noticed a couple of interesting things about the changes from high school to college that I never thought would change.

For the few weeks leading up to Thanksgiving break I remember thinking thoughts such as “I can not wait to take a shower without shower shoes” and “YES! This is my last cafeteria meal for a whole week”.  I never thought I’d actually come home to think I would be missing the little things at SMU, such as my mattress.  At home, it honestly was hard to fall asleep in a bed that I have slept in for 18 years.  And yes, I was upset that I couldn’t have my Wednesday Mac’s place chicken fingers.  I guess what I am trying to say is that even though I was very ready to go back home for the break, I am very happy to be back seeing my friends, eating in Mac’s place, and, of course, sleeping in my bed.

I also noticed how much songs play an important part in our lives.  Songs defined my weekends in high school.  Whenever I listened to songs getting ready for school, driving with my friends, or before a cross-country meet, I always associated that song with that time period.  When I went home for the break, the song “whatever you like” by T.I. started to play when I was at a party.  I realized that this song was very out of place-it only reminded me of my friends from SMU.  As my friends and I danced to this song, I realized that this song defined my freshman year; it didn’t define my reunion with my friends.  I never really thought that any of my friends ever moved on from our lives at home, until I heard that song. 

Don't take things for granted.

I found out some pretty shocking news today.  I wish I could talk to someone about my issue, but this information is not something that I want my close friends to know.  My friends will take this information as gossip and judge a girl who made a big mistake.  But I need to let my feelings out, and blogging is the perfect way to do it.

So here it is: A girl my age from my town just found out she is pregnant.

As children, we were very close.  Once we enrolled in different schools, we somewhat stopped talking.  Of course, we occasionally instant messaged each other about our lives or sent each other “happy birthday” text, but we were not really friends again.  During high school, I didn’t mind that; she had her group of friends and I had mine.

She had a pretty difficult four years in high school: her parents got divorced, she moved houses three times, she got very involved with drugs, and she got kicked out of two high schools.  This past year, she had been taking classes and got her GED last month.  I was so proud that she got clean and her GED.  I thought everything finally was going to work out for her… until I found out that she’s pregnant.

When I found out what had happened, I was in the middle of getting ready to get in the shower.  I said goodbye to my mom on the phone and walked to the bathroom.  So many different things were racing through my head.  I turned on the water and sat on the wooden bench outside the shower and starred at the tile in front of me.   I sat on the bench for about thirty minutes thinking about so many different things.

It is so hard for me to even imagine what she must be going through.  I know she is very scared and unsure of what to do.  Even though we’re not friends anymore, I still sympathize with her because of what we had.   If I could tell her anything now I would tell her that no matter what I will always be there for her.  

In the bathroom I thought to myself that it could happen to anyone, and she does not deserve this pain.  I couldn’t help but wonder what if was my best friend? My sister? Or even me?  After thinking about everything over and over in my mind, I know that I can’t ever take anything for granted-how matter how big or small.

Comment

I commented on Alexandra's Blog on the thread "Heat-Moon and Miz Alice's View on Education" on November 9th, 2008.

Blue Highways

Alice Middleton says, “Learning the rules is useful but it isn’t education.  Education is thinking, and thinking is looking for yourself and seeing what’s there, not what you got told was there.”  Do you think that Heat-Moon will successfully educate himself through his journey to find himself?

I completely agree with Alice’s statement.  Education is not limited to the work inside the classroom.  In order to truly grow, one must step outside the classroom boundaries and explore the world.   I believe that today’s education puts too much emphasis on the normal subjects in life.  We gain “book smarts”, but not “street smarts”.

Alice’s quote “learning the rules is useful but isn’t education” directly relates to Heat Moon’s life.  He had to deal with his divorce and the loss of his job.  Instead of sulking to his friends, he made a bold decision to get over his hardships by traveling.  He stepped outside of the box and pulled himself back together by exploring unknown lands.  Heat Moon learned valuable lessons in life that helped him put his life back together by “seeing what’s there, not what you got told was there” (390).  Through his journey, he opens up his eyes to see what exactly is out there.  He gains strength and wisdom through his real-life experiences.