Just the other weekend, I drove up to my aunt Kim's house. My grandma was in from Denver and my cousin Brianna was back from UNI. The family went up around 4:00 and left me to drive up on my own after I was done with all the grad parties I had to go to. I get directions to aunt Kim and uncle Gary's house and head up on the highway. The sun is shining and the air is warm so I decide to put on my "old man winter" playlist (the oldies playlist on my iPod). Then I remember two of my favorite summertime songs and set them up in a playlist of their own. If you read the title to this blog you'll know that "Ventura Highway" by America and "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" by Crosby, Stills & Nash are those two songs. I've linked them as the song titles in that last sentence and I suggest you check them out if you don't already know them so that you will be able to fully appreciate what I am about to discuss.
Back to the story: It's roughly 5:06 on a Saturday evening and I'm headed up I380 towards Center Point to see my family. By now, I have plugged in my iPod and selected the "old man winter" playlist. I then scroll through the song list and see "Ventura Highway." I go back, create a new playlist and add both "Ventura Highway" and "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" to it. The next twenty or so minutes were absolute bliss. I had never really had a defining point in my life where I had really recognized how great it was to be an American until that day. There are a lot of things wrong with these United States, but freedom is something that has been kept in tact, in some cases improved upon, and something that I can appreciate. In that short drive to Center Point, Iowa, I was more serene than I had ever been. I was content with everything. The music paired with the open road and rolling hills of Iowa was the most beautiful thing I had ever experienced. I saw life for what it was that day, and nothing more. We all are lucky to exist and everyone needs a moment like the one I had to fully appreciate that fact. I know it's silly that a couple of old songs and a drive could invoke such introspective thought but I think that's the point. It's the little things in life that we need to learn to appreciate, as much of a cliche as that already is, it's true.
Hopefully, I can have more of those moments this summer with all of the road trips I aspire to take with all of my friends. Now, it' time for me to go live life. I suggest you do the same.
Back to the story: It's roughly 5:06 on a Saturday evening and I'm headed up I380 towards Center Point to see my family. By now, I have plugged in my iPod and selected the "old man winter" playlist. I then scroll through the song list and see "Ventura Highway." I go back, create a new playlist and add both "Ventura Highway" and "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" to it. The next twenty or so minutes were absolute bliss. I had never really had a defining point in my life where I had really recognized how great it was to be an American until that day. There are a lot of things wrong with these United States, but freedom is something that has been kept in tact, in some cases improved upon, and something that I can appreciate. In that short drive to Center Point, Iowa, I was more serene than I had ever been. I was content with everything. The music paired with the open road and rolling hills of Iowa was the most beautiful thing I had ever experienced. I saw life for what it was that day, and nothing more. We all are lucky to exist and everyone needs a moment like the one I had to fully appreciate that fact. I know it's silly that a couple of old songs and a drive could invoke such introspective thought but I think that's the point. It's the little things in life that we need to learn to appreciate, as much of a cliche as that already is, it's true.
Hopefully, I can have more of those moments this summer with all of the road trips I aspire to take with all of my friends. Now, it' time for me to go live life. I suggest you do the same.
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