Something Indigenous About The Midwest

There are a lot of things that make a place unique. This can also depend on the person that you ask. What one thinks is special to the area, might not be special to another. I think that this area is special for multiple reasons. Depending on the area that you live in, somethings will be special are indigenous and somethings aren't. According to Webster the word indigenous means, "having originated in and being produced, growing, living, or occurring naturally in a particular region or environment indigenous plants the indigenous culture." One thing that is special to this area is the intense farming (and yes I would call it intense). I think that it is something that I take advantage of because it happens every year. I mean it is true, if you have or see something repetitively it gets old and we start to ignore it. But when I come to think about farming for this blog I realize just how blessed we are to get to see the corn grow. The people that live in the west see cattle and the desert. When one thinks of the desert they think of barely any life, blazing hot, and no water!! But we, we, the people in the Midwest get to see the constant cycle of life.
Sometimes in the morning during the summer about mid-August when the corn is dark green and when the crow is at max height it is absolutely beautiful.The sun hits the corn just right and it is especially wonderful when the corn is on both sides of you. It might sound crazy, but something about that is special and you would only know if you lived here.
Some people consider the corn or beans drab, but really if one puts thought into it, it is very beautiful and also if you have a quiet moment, its a great picture to look at. One can see the beauty of God's work when one sees the crop.
Farming is one thing that makes this area what it is, but there are other things as well, but to me the farming is my favorite.

My Memoir...

A memoir according to Dictionary.com is "an account of the personal experiences of an author.", it can also be an epiphany. A memoir is more than just learning about an experience that happened to an author...it is actually a glimpse into the heart of the author as they open themselves to a memory/experience that they learned from. Sometimes these experiences are bad ones, sometimes they are good ones, but either way the author is letting you in on an episode in their lives that would otherwise be left untold.
Over Thanksgiving break I had a sort of epiphany that I have decided to tuck away in my mind as an experience of learning. It's an important thing to me...and it is family. The things and people in this world are temporary, so family needs to be cherished. I learned over Thanksgiving break to appreciate and cherish my family because they are the type of people that through my journey of life will see me grow up and have known me since I was small.
Another epiphany was I learned how blessed I actually am. People all the time say to "count your blessings" or around the family table the popular statement is asked "why don't we go around the table and say what we are thankful for". Though that is good, is it really getting to the heart of the matter. How blessed are we really? This summer I was fortunate enough to go to Haiti. Upon getting to go to Haiti and then sitting around a table full of food here at home, I realized that I am so thankful for the things that God has blessed me with. I think when you are little the teachers cram into your head all the things that you are thankful for. One most popular item is food, which I thoroughly enjoy!! On the other hand, this year I realized that it was not the festive food over break that made me enjoy it, but instead the people I spent it with and the memories that we created. That is the memoir or epiphany I had and in my mind...it was a good one :)