The place that I wished I lived....

The place that I wish I lived in would be Iron Mountain, Michigan. An odd place coming from somebody who has lived in Mississippi their entire life, I know. I once was given the opportunity to visit Iron Mountain when I was married. My ex-husband Dan surprised me with a trip so I could get away from Mississippi. The trip was set to be a 5 day trip, 2 days of driving and 3 days stay in Iron Mountain, MI.

The reason why my ex-husband Dan went was because he wanted to go hunting and had heard from a family member that there was a wide variety of animals that you could potentially hunt for in that general region of the country. We left Mississippi and drove through the beautiful jagged terrain of Tennessee. Then we passed through the small mountain state of Kentucky, where the air is probably the cleanest air in the country. After that we cut across the endless corn fields that make up the state of Indiana. Next we moseyed along north into the surprisingly desolate fielded state of Illinois and endured some of the craziest driving in the north when we hurried through Chicago, IL. After Illinois we were awestruck at the most gorgeous yet simple beauty that you can only see in Wisconsin. And finally we were in Iron Mountain, Michigan… after what ended up being near 24 hour drive.

One piece of advice that I can never stress upon anybody going that far up north, dress very warm because it is well below 0 degrees up there! When we finally arrived we met up with my ex-husband’s family to stay with them in their amazing 5 bedroom oak cabin. We had an excellent dinner with them (elk strips, potatoes, and Jane’s specially spiced broccoli!) and went to bed early so Dan could be able to go hunting bright and early with his family. We also had plans for us all to sightsee around Iron Mountain once the guys were done hunting for the morning, only to have to put off the tour of the town until later due to the fact my ex-husband killed his very first moose!!!

Iron Mountain, MI was a very small town. The population was set at around 900 in the county. We all had lunch at a location that once served as Al Capone’s alcohol brewery during the Prohibition era, which still had all of the bullet holes in the wall from when the Federal Agents had shot up the building in effort to kill Capone on at least one occasion. Furthermore, there is no official sources that will accredit the upper peninsula of Michigan as the prime spot for any of the alcohol brewing during Prohibition… the closest that they do come to naming Iron Mountain as such a place is by saying that Capone was making and brewing alcohol from Canada and transporting it through the great lakes into the US. The people in the area were devoted Christians mostly that believed that they lived in probably the nicest part of the country, despite our claims that they have not seen nice until they come down south and stay there for awhile. The scenery was almost entirely wooded mountain terrain that was nested around 70 miles from Canada.

After a few days of hunting, some more of the best food I have ever eaten, more nice people to meet, and a lot more to learn we had to come back home. Another day from the time we left Iron Mountain, MI we were back home. Despite the fun we had up north and an amazing experience, from that point on I looked at where I lived and felt more at home then I ever recall feeling before I went on that trip.

The Most Important Person in my Life

Joy

One of the most important people in my life is Joy. Joy is my son’s cousin. She is related to my son’s father who passed away in January 2011. I met Joy for the first time after my son was born. She is the first real friend that I have had in my life in a long time. When I lost my son’s father, in many ways I was alone.

My family had been distant with me during the time my son’s father died. Many of my friends were in and out of the picture than eventually I had no friends because they were not always able to hang around me due to busy lives of their own. Little did I know at that time that I not only had I got assistance with my son, but had just met one of the most important people that influenced me the most in my life. The one person who I consider as a mother to me is Joy.


Joy was born in Alabama. She is married and has a son. Her husband and her son are like father figures to my son. They take care of him just as much as Joy does. My son knows that he is well loved by this wonderful family. He knows them by name, and loves to call out their names all the time.


Joy is one of the most inspirational people I have ever known. If anything were to happen to me, than I know that Jacob would be taken care of by Joy. Joy has been so supportive of me since my son was born. She knows that I am pursuing a college degree and encourages me to do my very best.



Song I couldn't live without

The song that I have chosen to qualify as a song that I could not live without hearing would be a song written by the rock band Van Halen on their album “Balance” that was released in 1995. The song is titled “Don’t Tell Me (what love can do)”. This is a song that touches many dimensions of modern reality and has limitless applicability in everyday life. In my opinion this song was one of the last songs written by the brilliant musician and songwriter Eddie Van Halen before he took yet another deadly plunge into indulging in illicit habits that once again began to ruin not only his career but the high quality of musicianship that he brought into his music, to which the evidence to solidify this claim lies entirely in the 3^rd wave of Van Halen with the short lived tenure of singer Gary Cherone to replace Sammy Hagar.

The first major theme expressed in the music video was symbolically mixing the struggle one must experience when love has placed them in a vulnerable and desperate state to being similar to that of someone desperate enough to turn to crime. The video follows the arrest of a young man to being incarcerated for some crime where not only did he make a bad choice but now has to survive the misery of paying for his decision. This makes me feel sorry for some of the wrong things I have done in my past (non-criminal behaviors, of course) merely because when I had to answer for my actions I felt in some ways just as that guy did in the video. Though the consequences of my actions were unpleasant, seeing this video also makes me reflect later upon the necessity of hurt. Without the pain there is no lesson, thus no motivation to stimulate a change towards a more positive way of living.

The second theme referenced in the lyrics that really makes me feel like I am apart of this song is the referencing of God in this video. In the beginning lyrics it is about being entirely in control of your life for yourself, with no consideration for anything else in the world. As the song progresses, the lyrics then suggest that through prayer and surrendering your decisions to serve a higher purpose for God than yourself with all of the effort that you possibly can in order to find something better to live for. This message can be confused easily because the chorus, emphasizing not to tell what love can do, sounds as though it is rejecting the entire notion of God being able to save you and living for yourself. The video illustrates the opposite. It is artistically saying that you will fall away from God and act on your own, but that when you are desperate and mess up again that God is still their for you waiting for you to change your life more for him. Also, that by asking for help you are not merely given the help, but must go through trials and tribulations to truly receive what God is trying to instill in your life.

A third theme present within the song is really how cruel the world can be to somebody that messes up. You take somebody who is struggling and put them through a tough environment and they do not always merely find God. Some of them harden up to their environment during the tough times only to become worse off then they are before. I have seen good people go bad from punishments simply because the punishment was too harsh. I have experienced such a devastating loss a little over a year ago that if I would not have had the love of some of the people that I have in my life I am certain that I would not be here writing this blog. I could easily have been a different person if I did not have the help I received when devastation entered my life. I could not imagine how much pain I would still struggle with in my life, what kind of a terrible mother I could have become, what kind of poor decisions I could have made, or how unhappy I could have been feeling if it were not for love.

Though I have said a lot already, an effective closing is deserved out of my respect for this song. “Don’t tell me (what love can do)” is one of the most real songs written, especially in the 1990’s, when rock began mutate and take up so many different forms. This song is actually considered one of the best songs put out by Van Halen with Sammy Hagar. It was a wake up call to the fact that we all need to embrace love in a way we have never embraced it before and live our lives in a manner that is more compassionate to those on their way to desperate circumstances. It also echoes that though punishments are necessary that the limits of acceptability for punishments need to be more thought out, rather then merely acted upon.

All About Me!!



Jacob



Hi, my name is Amanda and I live in Columbus, Mississippi. I am in my late twenties and I have a 2 year old son named Jacob. I have been a single mother for a year now. Jacob is a true blessing from God. My son's father passed away January 2011 due to medical issues.

I am currently attending EMCC to pursue a Business degree. I have enrolled in online classes since Spring 2011. I have put in a lot of effort into doing well at EMCC. Though it takes a lot of time and effort, I have enjoyed college so far. I have learned a lot and continue to learn new and interesting things everyday. I am a full time student that hopes one day to own a business.

Unlike many people my age, I have a child that needs me all of the time. So where most can go out and have fun, I have to do what is right and put him first. Though a lot of my time is taken up to parenting, I enjoy doing everything I can to ensure that my child is healthy and has a fun childhood. Other than being a mother full time, I manage to do other things with my limited spare time. I enjoy reading, writing, and spending time with other family members.

I have a sister that lives in England. Her husband is in the military and is stationed out there. Ever since she started living there it has been my goal to fly overseas and visit. I have always been interested in traveling and would one day like to see more of the world then I presently have. I like to see new things and try new things. I feel that it is better to experience life to its fullest rather then be closed off to all that life has to offer.

A hobby I have always enjoyed is scrap-booking. To me scrap-booking is more then just the piecing together of miscellaneous memorabilia to fill pages of a blank book, it is your life presented as you feel it is best presented. I cannot find the words to best describe the importance of scrap-booking to me, but I can assure you that it is very important and fun in my eyes. I use the following website as a reference to make scrap-booking more interesting; http://www.scrapbook.com.

Mommy and Jacob