I Believe...

I believe fireflies belong in the country.

Growing up as a child in the country, summer was my favorite time of the year. One of the things needed to complete my quintessential summer was fireflies. In the country I could see them for miles, flickering above the crops. I could hear the soft rustling of the corn tassels wisp past one another. I could smell hot dirt cooling down after a rainstorm. It was my world. When you are little you don’t think about what other places consist of. You just know how yours is, and you think its special.

When I moved to the city for college, one summer night I was packing up my clothes to go home for the weekend, a usual routine for me, after classes were done for the week. I had finished gathering my stuff, and was walking to my car to put my bag inside, just as it was getting dark outside. Much to my surprise, I then noticed fireflies were flickering all around me. I always thought fireflies were special to the country and to the people who live there. At that moment I was upset and I felt like these city fireflies were trapped, and were being cheated out of the environment they belonged in. I wanted to take them back to the country with me. I was convinced that at the sight of miles of flat land they would be as relieved as I was to be home.

Since all fireflies do not live in the environment I believe they belong in, I realized that the ones who live in the country and float freely above the crops in the summer are more content.

Fireflies without a doubt can survive in the city. I can do the same. But I would only be surviving. I would be trapped and feel suffocated. The city is never really quite, even in the dead of night. There is always a siren, or car alarm sounding. The buildings pollute my eyesight, and I can never really feel at rest, no matter how many locks are on my door. No matter how many people there are I somehow always feel disconnected from them, because a part of me is missing.

The part of me that is missing is home, in the country. Home is where my family is. On a piece of farmland, where, in the dead of night, all you will ever hear is a cricket. Home is a place where you don’t have to lock your back door to try and feel safe, where all you see for miles is flat land. Home is a place where I feel free, and at ease. It is where I will be content, surrounded by fireflies.

I Believe Fireflies Belong in the Country

I believe fireflies belong in the country.

Growing up as a child in the country, summer time was my favorite time of year. One of the things needed to complete a quintessential summer was fireflies. In the country I could see them for miles flickering above the crops. When you are little you don’t think about what other places consist of. You just know how yours is, and you think its special.

When I moved to the city for college, one summer night I was packing up to go home for the weekend. Just as it was getting dark outside, I noticed fireflies were flickering all around me, much to my surprise. At that moment I was upset and I felt like they were trapped, and were being cheated out of the environment they belong in.

Since all fireflies could never live in the environment I believe they belong in, I realized that the ones who live in the country and float freely above the crops in the summer are more content.

Fireflies without a doubt can survive in the city as I was proven. I can do the same. But I would only be surviving. In order to be content I will have to be living at the only home I will ever know, the Midwest in the country. 

I Believe

I believe in small little things that factor into the major overlying thing I believe in. The first time that I started to notice these things was in my second year of college. Being from the country, and living in the city was a huge change for me. One thing that I always enjoyed about the country in the summer was the fireflies. When I started going to school in Indianapolis I realized that much to my distress fireflies lived here too. When you are little you don't think about other places, and what that world consists of. You just know how yours is, and think that its special. From the first day of seeing the fireflies in the city I knew that I believed from that moment on that fireflies should only live in the country. I also knew that since that would never happen, that I believe the ones who are in the country are more content.

Not Just a Place, But an Episode in Time

When I started looking through the essays on www.thisibelieve.com, I was searching for someones essay, that I could relate to. I looked under the category of place, because I have such a strong connection with my home, and our farm, I knew I would be able to find someone who felt the same. Under place I found an this I believe article written by Tom, from Larned, Kansas.   

The place Tom described was a family farm. He talked about how the family farm is much more than a place, but an episode, and about how the term family farmer is singular but in reality it is plural, because of all the generations involved. The way that Tom described the place gives us a feeling of almost being there, and really understanding what a family farm is.

He also brings up an idea that farming is first and foremost an art. This idea to me had never occurred, until reading his essay. He then goes onto say that the art is what sets family farmers apart from corporate, and factory farms. Toms words were inspirational, and laid out in a way that made me want to know more.

S.M.A.R.T

Goals for me before last week were something that I did not like to make, because before last week I had the wrong idea of how to plan them, and follow through with them. The S.M.A.R.T model helped me understand how to plan goals, which in the long run will help me keep goals.

S stands for being specific goal. This type of goal has a better change of being accomplished than a general goal. For this step it is best to answer the "W" questions

• Who
• Who is involved 
• What
• What do I want to accomplish
• Which
• Identify requirements and restraints 
• When
• Establish a time frame
• Where
• Identify a location
• Why
• Purpose or benefits of accomplishing this goal

M is making the goal measurable. This means setting a time frame for progression, which allows you to stay on track, reach your target date, and experience achievement.

A is making an attainable goal. This step means that you will set goals that mean something to you, which in return will make you want to find ways to make them come true.

R is making a goal that is realistic. It must represent an objective you are willing and able to work at.

T is making a goal that is timely. If there is not a time frame set then there is no sense of urgency.

After understanding the S.M.A.R.T model, now I know how to lay out my goals in a way that makes me understand exactly what I want, and exactly how to achieve it. Before I was just saying I want to do this, without knowing how to accomplish it.

Characteristics of My Future

In class two weeks ago we were assigned to log onto indianacareerconnect.com, and fill out our work interests and our work importance values. My highest on the work interests was enterprising, with a close second at artistic. Then for the work importance values I scored a 30 out of 30 on achievement, and a 20 out of 30 on independence. These results do not surprise me, this site was a good tool to understand more about yourself, and potentially send your resume to employers in Indiana.

 My work interests tie in with my goal of someday opening my boutique on Purdue's campus. Enterprising is another way of saying in the business world that the individual is ready to embark on new tasks. Without this quality starting up a business would not be as easy. Also the artistic aspect coming in a close second after enterprising is a good quality, I believe this means that my store will be something new and fresh that consumers in that area have not seen before.

Also my work importance values also foreshadow that my dream of owning a boutique will become a reality. Achievement was my strongest out of the category, and I think that this shows I do not like to fail, and therefore have to have a feel of accomplishment. This quality in being a business owner is important because it helps with drive, and wanting to do well. At a close second was independence, which is a good quality to have when opening a boutique, because the owner has to be in charge of so many different areas within the store that it would almost be impossible to own a store if you were depending on someone else for help, or knowledge. 

Small Share, Big Voice

My background has always inspired me to stay true to myself, and help others. By attending the Art Institute of Indianapolis, I have stayed true to myself, in aspiring to become involved in the fashion industry. With graduation just around the corner I was lucky to find a way that I could incorporate helping others. Fair trade was introduced to me in a business planning class, from that point on I knew that the boutique I have always wanted on Purdue's campus would carry fair trade. 

Fair trade is about knowing the faces behind the production, and what the artisans go through on a daily basis to support themselves. Many of the products we wear on a daily basis are produced in sweat shops overseas, or by employees who are underpaid. Fair trade is a way to support the artisans by paying them with fair wages, which empowers them, 

because often they lack alternate sources of income. 

By carrying fair trade clothing, and accessories in my store on Purdue's campus, it will be a small share of the production that is taking place today, but a step in the right direction for helping be the big voice of fair trade.