That Never-Ending Feeling

There is always a purpose to the journey; that is why our parents let us make mistakes and why we have feeling of accomplishment after finishing something even if it was not considered success. There is more to the adventure than the destination. Do you notice more of the landscape on a plane ride or a road trip? If the task were able to be completed so quickly, there was no challenge or learning curve. The person would have gained nothing. Also, once the task is completed, there is nothing to work for. In my personal experience, the journey is always more enjoyable than the reward at the end. For example, I had zone finals a few weeks ago to qualify me for nationals. I had to receive first or second in order to continue, and I got neither but I was okay with it. Four weeks prior to this, I had shattered my arm and gotten surgery. I was only able to ride two weeks before zones, and I needed to regain all my strength and flexibility back to succeed. Zones gave me reason to ride every day for two weeks straight, and there was definitely improvement by the time zones came around. I drew challenging horses the morning of zones, and my rounds were not perfect, but I still felt much accomplishment walking out of the ring. My trainers were impressed with how far I had come in a week. I realized that even though I had no ribbons to brag about, I had still done something incredible in a short period of time. I enjoyed seeing my improvement in such a short period of time due to my dedication. Going to nationals would have been an extra sprinkle on my sundae, but the most valuable lessons were learned on the way.

Photo Blog

This log represents the obstacles the Joads had to overcome in order to make it to California, but even if they got to the other side of the log, there would still be debris covering the road. When the Joads made it to California, their life was still hard. The promised work and opportunity was not there, neither was the prosperous farm land. The "debris" the Joads encountered was all of the turned down migrants who wanted to get back home because it was no better there even though the migrants had gotten past traveling and selling all of their belongings. There are ways to get past the log, but there is no promise that it will be better on the other side. For all they know, there could be a cliff or dead end after the tree. This road block is similar to the journey the Joads had to face on the way to California. There is something on the other side, but they cannot be sure what, and it might end up poorly.

Pop Culture

Things like social networking and reality TV are seen as distractions and bad influences on today's society, but they can be useful on occasion. The internet keeps us informed on current events, political issues, etc. The first way most people find out about news is via the television or the internet.  When SkyView was evacuated, the first way my parents knew was through me texting them. The rest of the community found out through the news. The downside with things like the internet is that they do not always get the full story, or they twist it so it is more exciting. Everyone interprets it differently and then talks about it. After the Arapahoe shooting, some people were claiming two students had been shot, when there was truly just one. Versions with slight truth become the story depending on popularity. The information we can gain from pop culture is good to get a vague idea, but social media is not always completely honest. Pop culture has turned us into the Information Age and will continue to do so, hopefully with more truth in the near future.