1 post tagged “gettysburg”

So this is it; I'm done with college for the rest of my life...or until I realize I may need a Master's to get anywhere in this world.

I was finished with college on Thursday, but I decided to hang out at school until Friday, since I was in no rush to leave, and I had the time of my life hanging out with friends that I thought I'd never see again. Reason tells me though that I will see them again, and that this isn't the end of anything but rather the beginning of my ultimate freedom to do what I choose with my life. College may've been about doing what was safe or just half-assing papers because I had a deadline, but now I run on my own schedule and can pick the right path for me.

Lately I've been thinking about the Peace Corps and what it has to offer. It's pretty much all I'm about - helping people in third world countries where the need is dyer, and through peaceful methods instead of using "good 'ol" American muscle to get what we want. People is this country all too often take for granted what they have and the luxuries they have (clean drinking water being one of them), so I think I've decided that I want to help out others since I have the opportunity and the means to do so. We're all humans, so why not help each other get out of the ruts of life.

I'm not going to start working till after my birthday, since I feel I do need a break from everything and just need peace and solace in my life. This semester was so rushed, so now I'm having an awesome time just lounging around, catching up on my reading (currently reading Kurt Vonnegut's Player Piano, which is so far very good), and listening to music. Oh, and I've been unpacking my college life from boxes, which is much less depressing than I thought.

On Thursday, the day before I left college, I drove to Gettysburg and just sat at Little Round Top, which overlooks the so-called "Valley of Death," where hundreds if not thousands of Confederates and Union troops were killed side by side for a variety of reasons. The weather was pretty chilly, slightly windy, there wasn't any sun, but I could still see a bit through the fog. It was perhaps the greatest feeling in my life just being there, alone, standing on a rock listening to nature. No one was walking around as they usually do at Gettysburg, and the only sound I heard was the occassional wind blowing through the trees, air, and flocks of Canadian Geese flapping their wings overhead. I know this sounds so weird, but I thought to myself, "So this is what it must've been like before human intervention." Granted I could see lights in the distance, but I felt so at peace just standing on that rock, overlooking a gloomy valley, and just hearing nature, without the blaring cars or sounds that people make on a daily basis. It kind of made me think of the premise behind I Am Legend, except it was a good thing (I've heard the movie was bad), and I was extremely pleased with myself to have ever experienced that type of elation and peace of mind that I felt on that hillside. I've never had such a feeling ever in my life.

For now, I go unpack more of my life from boxes, but I hope that I will constantly update this as I am home now and don't have that many things standing in my way from this blog.

This picture is of Val D'Orcia in Southern Tuscany, and it was home to Iris Origo, an incredibly strong woman who gave aid to American and Italian troops against the Nazis in WWII. Though it's not the scene I displayed of Gettysburg, it is similar - signs of non-human intervention in the world.

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