Pictures

You might be wondering what Peace Corps Volunteers do in their free time. Or maybe you've never thought about it until I just put that idea into your head. Either way, I'll give you a little insight into my free time. Since I'm a teacher I'm pretty busy during the school term and I don't get a whole lot of time to myself. We're on break now though so I've had a bit of free time.

A few days ago I decided it was high time that I clean my room. Those of you who reallllllyyy know me, know that my room is usually in the state of extreme chaos. Not necessarily dirty, but cluttered with clothes, shoes, books, girly stuff, etc. You name it, its lying on my floor somewhere. Anyways while reorganizing my things I came across a ton of pictures I brought from home and a bunch that have been sent. I've also hung at least 80-100 pictures on my wall. Sometimes when looking at old photos we just flip through them quickly without really observing them. I took the time today to really look at my old pictures and it was an intense walk down memory lane.

I tried to remember the exact mood of every picture. Was it joy? Love? Intoxication? Maybe a candid shot showing a more serious side?

I looked at the faces of the people in the pictures. Some I know I'll never see again. They've either been taken from this world, or our friendship, although once thriving like a strong baobab tree, has dwindled away to nothing more than a mere acquaintance. Others were, at the time, not very important in my life, but they've slowly become a major part of what makes me happy. I can't imagine my life without some of the people in my pictures. Some of their faces tell the story of a love that was, but no longer is. Some are family: those who will stick by your side through thick and thin.

I looked at the scenes of the pictures. Halloween, college parties, family reunions, staff parties, graduation, school trips, prom, sporting events, birthdays/celebrations, and those that were taken for no particular reason other than someone had a camera at that given time. It forces you to remember the memories that are attached to those pictures. Some make you smile or laugh. Some make you regret the events which came after the photograph was taken. Mostly they make me miss my past. Being young and free without a care in the world. Remembering (blurry) summer nights with friends and six packs of what ever we could get on sale. They make me miss my friends and family too. I haven't seen some of these people in years let along taken any new pictures with them.

Pictures, to me, are a strange phenomena in this world. A digital hard copy of a single split second in time that can never be changed, replicated, relived or erased. I've heard a picture is “worth a thousand words”, but it's only when you really let your pictures speak to you that you hear what they have to say.

I can only hope that my future has many more beautiful moments than my past and I can't wait to put more memories on my wall.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving.

Americans have been celebrating the wonderful holiday known as Thanksgiving for a long time now. It became an official federal holiday in 1863. Abraham Lincoln said that we would use this holiday to give thanks to God for the good things in our lives. That was 150 years ago. Today we typically use it as an excuse to gorge ourselves on turkey, potatoes, stuffing, dinner rolls, and lets not forget the pie. Pumpkin, chocolate, apple, the list goes on. Once fully satiated we kick back on a comfy couch and become absorbed in the football game. Thanksgiving has very little, if anything, to do with religion these days. It has very little to do with giving thanks for anything, let alone any divine being.

Around this time of year I become confused about why people start posting facebook statues about “Today I am thankful for …..”. So does that mean you are only thankful for these things one day a year? What about the remaining 364 days of the years? Or is thanksgiving only important to some people because of Black Friday the next day? The amazing Christmas deals that only come around once a year seem to be what many people are concentrating on.

Here are some things I'm thankful for 365 days of the year.

1. Family – Where would any of us be without our family? I'm not only talking about those we have blood relations with because sometimes those people make our lives harder than it should ever be, but I'm talking about those people in your life who love you unconditionally, they support your dreams and visions, and they are there for you in your very darkest hours. For me I am lucky to have an amazing family. They've never doubted my life goals and they've supported me every step of the way. It doesn't stop there. I have so many “friends” that I consider family. Living in Ghana has helped me realize the importance of this. Family, brothers and sisters, isn't about your blood relations. Its about your heart.
2. I don't need to mention friends because they are my family.
3. My health. If you ask my parents they can tell you how many times I've been to the emergency room, but somehow I've grown into a healthy woman. Even since I've been in Ghana I've had very few encounters with any tropical diseases and I've been able to fully recover.
4. My life. The experiences I've had whether good or bad are all so valuable. They've made me the person I am today and I wouldn't change that for the world. Do I believe things happen for a reason? I'm not sure. But I do know that all the wonderful and terrible things that have happened to me have brought me to this very moment in my life and I'm happy about that so I wouldn't change anything.

Sometimes I'll just be sitting on my steps at night watching the stars, and I think that my blessing in life amount to more than all the stars in all the galaxies. I'm just one person on this huge planet full of millions of people and I have so much to be thankful for. Not just one day out of year though. I count my good fortune any chance I get.

Living in a different part of the world has open my eyes to so many issues that you can never fully understand until you experience it. I've become thankful for not only the things I have, but also for the things I don't have of I've never had to experience. I am not saying I've seen or experienced all of these things in Ghana, but I have at least learned about these things happening in many parts of the world today.

1. I'm thankful that I am not currently suffering from malaria. Fever, chills, headaches, nausea, diarrhea, body pains, etc.
2. I am thankful that I am not a mother of malnourished children who are crying in the night with empty bellies.
3. I am thankful that I have not lost my parents or any loved ones to HIV/AIDS.
4. I am thankful that I don't have a distended stomach full of worms.
5. I am thankful that I could take a school bus to school instead of walking up to an hour both ways.
6. I am thankful that I have an endless supply of clean drinking water.
7. I am thankful that I'm not abused every day by a parent/spouse.
8. I am thankful that I don't live every day in fear of bombs being dropped on my home.
9. I'm thankful that my life hasn't been lost to drugs, alcohol or prostitution.

The truth is I could go on for years. I think the list of things that I'm thankful for not having is much longer than the list of things I'm thankful I have. I see that as a good thing.

I think we all get lost sometimes in our own worlds without ever even considering the fact that no matter how bad our lives are, there is probably someone worse off. Every time I imagine that it's very humbling.

This year for thanksgiving I traveled to my friend Jessica's site in the Upper West Region of Ghana. We didn't celebrate on the actual day, but that weekend we feasted. Fried guinea fowl (kind of like chicken), yam salad (like potato salad except with yams), instant mashed potatoes, stove top stuffing, mac and cheese, green bean casserole, and deviled eggs. Everything was delicious. The best part about our thanksgiving feast wasn't the mass quantities of food though. It was sharing our feast with two Ghanaian friends. We took pictures and explained the meaning of thanksgiving to them. We made them try each and every dish and the best part was that their favorite dish was the boxed mac and cheese. Who knew that the cheapest, easiest thing would be such a hit! We had a wonderful time sharing stories and laughing. I will remember this thanksgiving forever.

As I write this I only hope that people around the world can learn to be a little more thankful for the things they have instead of wishing for more. Also, we all need to take a second and realize that so long as we are alive, and we have food/water/shelter, then our lives aren't really that bad. We struggle and suffer. That's life sometimes. Speak to people with kind words and always have heart for them. You never know the struggles they are dealing with in their lives and you never know if one day someone will be thankful that you took the time to appreciate them and give them a reason to live.