College

I am currently a freshman in college, and I find it hard to believe that in just one short week my first year of college will be over. I feel that it has gone by much faster than I expected. College is a time when young adults should go out and experience new things and travel and live life before they have to really enter into the real world.

College is a great time for young people to go out and try new things. Part of this comes from meeting new people and getting to know their likes and dislikes and being introduced to things that they like that you never knew about. College is also a time when you are able to do things without your parents permission, and it is from these new things that you gain valuable knowledge and experience.

College is also a great time to travel. Most colleges offer great opportunities for students to travel overseas or to other parts of the country as part of a college class or program. Oftentimes these programs are a bit cheaper, and they allow students to go with their friends if they so choose. Sometimes also going on these trips are safer than actually going alone.

The normal college four year plan seems like a lot to many people however it is shorter than what you think. Four years will be over faster than you think and you might regret the things that you didn't do because you though you had much more time than you actually did. So because this time will be over in a short time live it up, travel, enjoy the new experiences, and have fun.

Birthdays

I just recently celebrated my nineteenth birthday, and it was the first one ever away from my family which was a new experience. I realized some important things on this birthday. I realized most importantly that contrary to what you believe when you are little everything does not revolve around you when it is your birthday. Your birthday should be one of fun times and celebration but also moments of reflection of what is important in your life.

Having my family not be with me on my birthday was a new experience for me. It taught me something though, and that was that they really are very important to me. It taught me that even though they weren't with me to celebrate it on that day they were still thinking about me and they still cared for me. They were with me in spirit instead of in person. Not having them with me reminded me of how much I care about them and how much I love them.

This was also my first birthday without my usual cast of friends around. Yes, I had different friends with me, but not the same ones that I always do which was also a new experience. I realized the same thing about them as I did with my family. I missed them, but I also knew that they still were there with me in spirit. Instead of doing the same things that we always did for birthdays I got a chance to do different and fun things. \

So, contrary to what you might believe about birthdays when you are little they are much more than a day where the whole world revolves around you. Your birthday is, and should be, a day that reminds you of how much other people in your life mean to you. It should be on this too that you take a little time out and thank those people who have gone so far out of their way to make that day a day that is all about you.

Travelling

A popular thing to do is to go on a family vacation, and my family has gone on a few we haven't travelled all over the world, but from those few experiences I have had with family vacations and other trips without my family I have learned the importance of travelling. Family vacations are great, and they are a good starting off place, but the real learning comes when you are older and when, a lot of times, you go travelling by yourself or with a group of friends, people that are your same age. Travelling allows people's minds to be opened. It allows them to experience new things and change their previous ways of thinking. Travelling is a powerful instrument of change.

Before I took my trip to Washington D.C. wars had been wars. They were something I read about in history books or watched movies about. However, once I went to D.C. and saw some of the memorials, especially the Vietnam memorial, my whole thinking about them changed. I realized that there were real men fighting and they really died all because they were courageous enough to say that they'd fight when our country asked them to. The Vietnam memorial was especially moving and heartbreaking at the same time because I saw all those names of the people that lost their lives and it just got to me. It just touched my soul and made everything more real. Without this experience I'm not sure if wars would have ever become something that had just happened in history books instead of something that had happened for real.

Another moving experience came on my trip to New York City. This trip happened about three years after 9/11, and on this trip we went to the site of the twin towers and saw what was left of them. This experience, just like the last one, was eye opening and made things more real. It solidified what had happened in my mind. Seeing things on TV is one thing but then actually going and seeing the destruction in person is completely different. Travelling allows for that change into reality to happen.

My own personal experiences have convinced me that travelling is beneficial mostly because it allows for things to become a reality. Even just going and seeing places is different when you see them in person than just in books. I have so many places on my list that I want to travel to, and I believe that everyone should have places that they want to go and visit as well. Miriam Beard sums up the point of travelling, "Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living." I couldn't agree with her more, and I know it to be true.

Reading the Bible

I am an Evangelical Lutheran, and I have been for my entire life. Every week that I went to church I learned more about the Bible and about my religion and my faith increased. I have always wanted to read the Bible but just never got around to doing so until this year. This year, for one of my classes, we were required to read the books of the Bible, and it astounded me how much I had been missing by not reading the Bible to begin with.

Sitting in church on Sundays or even hearing the Bible stories from others like in Sunday school classes is not the same as actually sitting down and reading the Bible. There is so much that you miss when you are just getting snippets of a larger story. It is like reading only certain chapters out of a chapter book. You might miss something; you are especially getting cheated out of the larger picture.

Sometimes missing things isn't that bad, but in this case it is. There are so many powerful stories and messages that the church can't possibly get to so they stick with the same ones. Thus if you don't go and read the Bible for yourself you might know those selective stories very well, but you will be missing out on other important information from God.

The Bible is definitely not the most interesting thing to read, and it is sometimes confusing however it is important that it is read especially if you want to deepen your faith or even understand things a little bit better. I personally have found spots of great enjoyment in the Bible and spots that were tough to get through, but overall it is worth the effort that I put in it. I feel not only closer to God but also that I have a deeper understand of how he works and what he wants.

Family Gatherings

Today was Easter, and my mom's side of the family gathered yet again for another family party. Her side of the family is very large and so gathering us all together in one place is a challenge to say the least. Lets just say that there were about 50 of us there, and that only includes my aunts and uncles (my mom's brothers and sisters and their spouses) and my cousins, some of which are married and have children of their own, and that wasn't nearly all of them. Having such a large family makes me realize how special these family gatherings are to me because I don't see them very often. Family gatherings are special and should be cherished.



For families that live far apart and don't see each other often family gatherings should be cherished because they are times for family members to reconnect and catch up. They are times when the past can be relived and enjoyed. Family gatherings give family members a chance to talk and to be there for each other. It gives them a chance to get to know one another and perhaps develop a much closer bond than what would have been there without the family gatherings.



There is also so much fun and excitement waiting to happen at family gatherings, and it are these memories that stay with people as they grow older. It is the exciting times that people will remember. I know that at the family gatherings on my mom's side I usually partake in a rousing game of train. It is during these games that I not only get to know a few of the other players better, normally a few cousins and a few aunts and uncles, but we also just have a good time.



People are not able to choose who they want to be in their family. They are automatically born into a family. Because of this lack of choice it is important to get to know your family and the best way to do this, oftentimes, is through a family gathering. It are these family gatherings times that are most important to cherish and remember and enjoy.

Theological References in the Most Unlikely Places

Most movies today are made to entertain, and not to bring up serious questions however upon closer examination of many movies it can easily be seen that they do, in some particular spots, prompt deeper thinking. Many movies encourage this deeper thinking by, in some way, referencing religion. There are many great examples of this, but some include The Boondock Saints, The Dark Knight, and The Lion King. All of these movies make their viewers ponder a different idea and makes them see connections that are at first hard to discern, but become more visible the deeper the viewer looks.

The Boondock Saints explores an interesting concept about what God really is saying to us. The movie begins with a preacher telling a very powerful story and then summing it up with the line, "But there is another evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men." The movie plays with this theme and makes the viewer think about if that is really what God intended or if that is a twist in the reading of God's word. The movie is entertaining even without the thought provoking question however it is that question that makes the movie valuable.

A very recently popular movie, The Dark Knight, is also a very entertaining movie at face value however it is the end that the viewers are left with a theological question/reference. At the end Batman leaves and chooses to be the person that everyone goes after. It is just like Jesus in essence where he is the people's savior but many do not choose to accept him, and instead they go after him and want to hunt him down.

Another favorite, perhaps a more classic movie, The Lion King, references theology in two different and distinct ways. It first presents some similarities. Like, for example, when King Mufasa dies in order to save his son it can be compared to Jesus dying for his children, use. However, the bulk of the movie is used in contrast to normal biblical teachings, and this makes the viewers consider more in depth what God really teaches us to do.

Sometimes, theological references occur in the most unlikely situations, however they are used to make the viewer consider something new and interesting. They also add to the movie's theme. Next time when you watch a movie, instead of just enjoying it at face value try and find a deeper meaning. Try to look for something more. Try and look for a theological reference.

Music

Music is very prevalent in our times. Music accompanies our life in more ways than we realize. It is at sporting events and rallies. It is at church, it is what most people turn on in their cars. Listening to music and finding what kind of music that makes you feel better is a very important part of life.

Finding a genre of music or even music in general that makes you feel better is important because it can lift your spirits. Music has a powerful way of speaking to people. It can say things to them in a way that no one else can. It can be a soul comforter, or it can be a way to pump up already high spirits.

Listening to music also helps relieve stress. Putting on a song and just being able to bob your head and sing along and just forget about what's going on is a powerful way to relieve stress. In life today many things provide stress for people and finding an effective way to relieve and eliminate stress is important to not only make a person feel better but to also improve their health.

Music, besides being background noise to life, is a powerful way to improve people's spirits. It not only is a great way to add happiness and enjoyment to life, but also provides an added benefit of stress relief. What is so great about music is that it can be individualized to each person and to that person's specific mood. Music is there for what people need when they need it.