It seems weird saying that but yeah, the woods. I don’t mean like in a tent or in the jungle either! I mean that I live in a town that I have to drive 20 minutes one way to find a Walmart and 35-45 minutes to find a mall of some sort. I mean that the only thing to do at 2 am is to go to Sheetz and hang out. I mean that riding on the backroads real late looking for deer is a fun time. I mean that I grew up with campfires, swimming at the lake, small town vibes, and values. One thing I hate about growing up in a small town is that everyone knows everyone, and they know your parents, so they know you. What I have always done though, instead of walking the opposite direction or ignoring someone I DO NOT want to talk to, I ask them how they are doing with a smile. The thing is that wherever you go in a town like mine is that you will always see someone you know and clog the aisle talking to them, it’s just a thing that happens. Just because I don’t want to talk to them doesn’t mean that I am going to be disrespectful to them.
The whole point is that manners aren’t something preached anymore, and values are lost which is going to lead to ungratefulness. Privilege is something that is rising, and this is not something I like to see. I grew up with a single mom that was left with nothing but a waitressing job and two small children. Nothing about my life has been about money, only happiness and love. Nowadays parents slap an iPad in a kids lap and that is that. When I was a kid, my mom sprayed me with the hose outside or I would be riding my bike (only to the last pine tree though). I found that those who grow up with less appreciate everything more. This isn’t an exact science, so sometimes it is not the case, but I can say for myself that I have learned one of the most valuable things at a young age: nothing monetary can replace the memories you can make out of love, in the end money will not help you, only what is within. To have heart, I think that the number one thing to do is to care.
Too many times it is “I don’t care” or “nobody else cares so why should I”. If this were incidental, would you jump off of a bridge because everyone else did? The analogy is necessary to see how ridiculous this statement is. I grew up in the woods, so I learned that the weekends were spent around a fire in the summer. Having a fire is way more than it seems to be. I have had the best times of my life around a fire with friends, family, and even strangers. It’s the smell of wood that stays on your clothes for me. It’s the crackling of the dry wood as it burns that’s therapeutic for me. It’s the stories being told, and memories being made for me. Memories aren’t made anymore. Kids are too consumed on their devices to eat dinner. They’re too occupied with TikTok to watch a movie with the family. When I was a kid, movie nights were the best. My mom would rent the latest marvel movie and we would eat junk food and hang out. These memories are irreplaceable, what’s memorable about kids on their iPad, so consumed that they can’t even hear you talking to them.
I think that this generation coming is going to be the worst yet. Growing up with things like that does not help them understand value. My first big thing I ever owned was a Wii fit that I bought myself. At the time it was $250 so this was a lot of money. I earned it though, iPads are given. Then, when they break, they are given a new one again. I think that values are so important. I had a simple upbringing that made me who I am today. Who am I? I am the person that cares so much about others that I never take time for myself. I am the person that wants to dedicate their life to helping others. I am the person that loves the feeling they get when volunteering or donating to a cause. I value happiness. I value respect. I value giving. Being a good person can be taught but not with the type of upbringings the newest generation is undergoing. It’s so sad to me that technology has taken over the youth of today and I do not think that they will be raised with the gratefulness that those that have less have. You don’t have to grow up in the woods to find these values, you just have to be brought up with a sense of gratefulness of the things you are given because other kids do not get the same things. Being mindful of who you are is more important than the things that you own.