Someone once described my mind as if it where a large room with intertwining strings with pictures attached to the important plot lines for memory’s sake. If I was going to draw a picture of what’s going on up there, it probably would look like that. When I remember events from my past, it’s the details that I remember. Also, I’m slightly fascinated how paths long neglected for other, shinier paths have been picked up again in my life…my life seems to be a continual cycle of ‘life plans,’ ideas, or ‘I’d like to…’s. I want to share the things that this week alone that I have wanted to do, explore, or be. They are not terribly exciting, but my goal for life is not to lead an exciting one but to explore. I want to explore the world, my community, and my internal self. These are the things that occurred to me this week:
- Become a Farmer
When you take into account that I have had to replace my classroom plant twice just this year already, this is almost an absurd thought. I will give the preface to this that this idea might just be due to the warm summer sun, nice fresh food, and how farms are so green in the summer, but this is been on my mind lately. All of the sudden I would love to have a farm, primarily a produce farm. Most farms in the area that I’m from are Diary/Meat farms due to the poor soil condition, and I know that there’s no way I could handle caring for a cow.
If I had any sort of green thumb at all, I might pursue this (and honestly, I wouldn’t put it past me to try it anyways). The idea of helping nature produce food for yourself and for others…natural food that actually nourishes your body…makes me happy.
- Join the Take Our Jobs Campaign
The anti-immigration law in Arizona has caused a lot of controversy. Whatever your opinion is about immigration or illegal immigrants, I think the idea of illegal immigrants taking American jobs is a moot point. The jobs that immigrants, legal or not legal, take are not jobs that Americans are willing to take. The United Farm Workers are opening themselves up to prove that point with their Take Our Jobs campaign. They are offering positions that are vacant (they are not taking away jobs from anyone) to any American citizen that wants them. These positions are not comfortable, long hours in 100+ degree heat out in the fields of California. (Let’s be honest, this is just an activist way to get to my first thought of being a farmer, right?)
I would want to join this campaign to experience what those people experience, get to know them as people and learn their stories, perhaps pick up a new language, and foremost learn. These people, no matter where their citizenship lies are experts at what they do. Farming or field tending is something that takes skill, patience, and knowledge-it would be nice to learn from them.
I want to experience the Southwest, I’ve got the Southeast pretty well covered, and the sunshine beckons me. So that’s the path I would take, only interested in going to California to see family and then your are so close to Tijuana you might as well add another country to the experience.
Becca Kello 