Thoughts on America

I realize I have not blogged in ages, and I probably won't start blogging a ton after this either, but I had thoughts running through my head that needed an outlet. And my thoughts today are too long to fit into a 140-character tweet, which is what I usually do, so I have turned to the blog.

Today is the fourth of July. Independence Day for the United States of America. One of my favorite days of the year.
I love celebrating the 4th of July. My family always goes to the parade in the morning and it is a huge, fun, loud ordeal. And then we swim and play and eat to our hearts content. And then we watch fireworks. Fireworks are one of the best parts about the summertime. Overall, this is simply one of the best holidays with the best traditions.

But here's the thing: America is struggling. Maybe in my maturity I'm just more aware of the world than I ever have been in the past, but I feel like this nation, especially lately, is in constant contention with it's self and with the rest of the world. Specifically the contention within ourselves is the part that is overwhelming and disheartening to me. It seems to be eating us up from the inside. People are always arguing; not just having civil disagreements, which I think is a very healthy thing for all societies, but fights and name calling and an unwillingness to even listen to an opinion different than one's own. Sometimes these disagreements even turn to violence and that is unspeakably terrible.
It's really discouraging and heartbreaking to hear about such occurrences within this place that is supposed to be so happy and so free. I hadn't even realized it until today, but recently I've developed a somewhat negative attitude toward this country that I love so much. So often all we hear about is the bad, and I was beginning to believe it to be 100% true. While I do recognize that this country is not perfect and we have some major things we need to work on, today reminded me that this is still America. We are still so blessed to be in a country with all of the freedoms and rights that we have.

The majority of the youth that I work with are extremely underprivileged. They come from poverty situations, broken homes, and very rough neighborhoods. In my work, I focus so often on how unfairly society has treated them and how they were born into a situation where they never had a chance to succeed. I read articles and talk to my fellow professionals about how these youth are so underprivileged and lacking so much by way of materials, experiences, and finances. It's quite discouraging to realize that statistics say that it is incredibly unlikely for most of these kids to overcome the circumstances that they were born into. Most studies say that these youth will follow their parent's histories of violence, crime, lack of education, and poverty.

I could go on and on about the links between poverty, education, and delinquency, however today I realized that this is not the only perspective. This negative, static view of the future of these youths is not the only way of viewing their potential. Today I was reminded of hope and potential for the future of all of the youth of this nation.

We live in a country where it is completely possible for a kid to be born in the worst of circumstances and to eventually become anything they could ever dream of. Yes, this is difficult, and yes, this takes time, perhaps even a lifetime, but the bottom line is that it is possible. The youth of this country have the potential to change their lives and change the world. We live in a country where our destinies are not predetermined and we have control over who we become and how successful we will be. Yes, this country is still struggling and still has hatred, fear, and misunderstanding of so many minority and underprivileged groups. But people are advocating for change and understanding, because that's something we can do in this country! We are allowed to have a voice and we are allowed to try to change the things we don't like. We are not perfect and we have lots to work on, but isn't that exactly how America should be? This is a place of constant change and adaptation, and that is a good thing. And this is a place where our children have very bright, hopeful futures, and that is what America is all about. I'm not giving up on America and the future it holds for our youth, and I hope no one else is either.

I dabble

I used to think that I obsessed over outrageous things more than anyone. But then once I dated a boy who would dive into hobbies and get COMPLETELY obsessed, and he made me realize that maybe I don't get fully invested and obsessed, I just dabble in a ton of different unique hobbies and interests.

But then I reconsidered a second time, and why the heck can't I do both?? I dabble in so many random interests, but I also get so passionately obsessed with each and everyone of them. When I decide I like something, I jump on and and truly LOVE it. I often move on and gather new, weird passions, but I never loose the many loves that I've had in the past.

Here is a list of some things that I have dabbled in and passionately love and will geek out about if you bring them up to me (this list is probably not comprehensive):

• Harry Potter
• watching and playing volleyball nonstop
• Avatar: The Last Airbender
• finding and sitting on good benches
• Lord of the Rings
• Doctor Who
• college football
• social theory of poverty and delinquency
• playing board games
• Star Wars
• Super Smash Brothers
• watching parades
• Weezer
• reading fantasy books
• hiking
• collecting Pez dispensers
• watching the playoffs of any sport
• Arthur
• lemonberry slush with nerds from Sonic
• twitter
• Beyoncé
• quoting Disney movies
• anything Olympic related
• So You Think You Can Dance
• chips and salsa
• dance parties

Parade people.

I know I say my family is the best a lot, but I only speak the truth.
We are a type of people that you might not have encountered in your life, at least not at our level.
We are parade people. Weird, I know. But that's what we do.

I've grown up always going to parades and I didn't realize that this wasn't normal until I was in high school. I also didn't realize that it wasn't normal to lose your voice every time you go to a parade. You see, we cheer for EVERYONE that passes by, whether or not they are interesting or even in the parade. I mean, we cheer our lungs out for the little kids pulling the wagons and selling popsicles just as much as we cheer for the scottish pipe band or the sweet floats.

And when I say my family, I mean my WHOLE family. This is a lot of people. It's not surprising when we have a solid 40 people there on the street with us at any given parade. Uncle Frank is always shouting in the back with his wooden noise-maker that makes us all deaf. There's some specific cousins that I can always rely on for witty, hilarious comments shouted at the floats, particularly those with the pretty girls on them. The youngest brother pulls some ridiculous dance moves in the middle of the street  in the long spaces between floats. It's just plain fun.

July is prime time for parades. The Pioneer Day/24th of July/Days of 47 Parade is the ultimate of all parades. For 35 years my family has been going to downtown Salt Lake on the night of the 23rd and setting up camp on the street to save our spot for the parade in the morning. Sleeping out for the parade is my favorite extended family tradition. Like, we legitimately sleep on the streets.

Lay the blankets out in the gutter, and then party all night. We play all sorts of games, we talk, we laugh our heads off, we walk about down town. And we don't sleep. Some people try to sleep, but aren't particularly successful.
This year was a strange one at the parade for me. For one, I was missing some brothers. Ryan is on a mission. And Kade was at scout camp. Also, just lot's of other relatives weren't there. On the positive side: I brought friends. This was a new experience for them and I was thrilled. Sadly, they thought it was a good idea to go to sleep at 2 or 3 in the morning. Luckily, my cousin, Jason and I remained stalwart and stayed up the entire night, talking about absolutely nothing and it was hilarious. We were unashamedly the only one's that did not sleep a wink, though Jason did sleep through the entire parade, but that was to be expected.
So this years' parade can be marked off as another supreme success. I got zero sleep, cheered my lungs out for all 120+ parade entries (particularly the BYU float which contained my good friend and future roommate, Jessica), and just had the time of my life.
I love being parade people.