 |
| German chocolate Julian brought us. |
So there I was at the airport, with about 7 or 8 other families there to pick up kids as well, holding my dinky little welcome sign, waiting for their flight to get in. Soon enough, a huge group of kids came walking down the hall and I knew it was all the exchange students - I could tell from the style of their clothes. They all went toward the signs with their names on it, and Julian came up to me and I greeted him with a huge hug and a "welcome to America!" He was so happy and upbeat, which was surprising considering he was majorly jet-lagged and had been traveling for the last 15+ hours. I already knew he was going to be like a little brother to me. We got his bags, got in my car and started to drive to my house. We talked the whole time in the 40 minute car ride about everything, his life in Germany, what he's looking forward to while he's here, how excited he is for prom and to ride a school bus for the first time (funny, cause I hated riding the bus), etc., but something he said really stuck with me.
I asked Julian why he wanted to come to America and do this exchange program, and his excited response was:
"Why wouldn't you want to come here and live in America, it's like you're on vacation all the time!"
His response caught me off guard. I definitely don't see living in America as being on vacation. In fact, I'm always wishing I lived somewhere else and I always find things to complain about. Then I realized, there are people out there that are jealous of the fact that I live in America.
I guess you could call it a "thankful moment."
I take the fact that I live in America - a free country, where I can go out with my friends without the fear of being bombed or go to church with the fear of persecution - for granted. There are people out there that wake up every morning, having to fight just to survive. I wake up in the morning, cranky, because my alarm clock is going off and I have to get up to go to work.
Now yes, I realize Germany (where Julian is from) isn't a third world country and he doesn't have to deal with a daily struggle to survive, but his excitement over something as little (well, not that little) as coming to America really threw me. I never understood why so many people dream of coming to America to live. But for them, it stands for something greater - freedom, success, and no longer having to live in fear.
Julian's comment really made me be thankful for the opportunities I have, because I definitely take them for granted and I'm always wishing I had a different life. But there will always be someone out there that is jealous of what you have. So embrace it. Be thankful. Don't envy someone else just because they have something you want. We live in a free country, so you could probably have it too if you worked for it. Make your dreams happen. And take a moment every day to think about what you have and be thankful.
-A
2 comments:
saying hi from the wiegands link up- i watched a movie tonight that also made me feel thankful for our country. it's a pretty amazing place! though i can't really remember the last time i truly felt like i was on vacation- ha! maybe we're just good actors.
Cheers!
I remember when we had an exchange student from France once! This post was so fun to read, and such interesting points. Thanks for the reminder to be thankful for what we have :)
Post a Comment