tim graduated on friday, gave as good of a graduation speech as can be expected (for graduation speeches are inherently boring) . i'm so proud of him - continuing in a mold that is arguably as hard to continue in as anyone's family that i know. he accomplished more, worked harder, and came out on top long before i (or my older brother) did. well done, tim.
the graduation party was a success too, complete with food, frisbee, and a mammoth tent in the front yard. tim raked in the cash and gave me a little update about the ladies in his life, which, if you know tim, is not something easy to get out of. he's biding his time while making the most of the friends he has here. the kind-of-awkward lame duck, leaving for college in three months phase. of course, that's when i hooked up with jenna :)
so ohio. i ran out in the country today, a good 80 minutes on the dot, to see the flat lands and fields, the tractor museum and the construction, and most of all, the solitude. my family is great and i can't wait to see my cousins' baseball games tomorrow. and a couple of rounds of frisbee golf with kurt have been much needed. that and seeing ben, jen, and justin has been awesome.
that said, i was talking with kurt about raising a family, since he's had a chicago experience last semester and so we have some big city - small city comparisons. the small city is good, safe, and solid, but the draw is to stay near, to graduate from BGHS and go to Owens or to BGSU, which both may be good choices but both seem hard to excel at. I speak from experience, or if you don't agree with me, go ahead and mosey on to Justin Edwards' blog and read about his frustrations too.
the big city has the opportunity and the possibility- no, probability of succeeding. i don't mean succeeding meaning making money or having a sweet house or something, i mean succeeding by exploring a diverse population, by making friends with people not possible in a homogeneous town, and by having many outlets to explore any hobby or adventure you want to pursue. the downside, and this is immediately seen upon this trip home, is the people. midwesterners ARE different and ARE so much more comforting than those people in the East. not necessarily everyone, but across the board, i could feel myself relaxing as i left maryland for ohio.
so, back to the original discussion, raising a family - what do you give them? safety or opportunity? comfort or the knowledge that not everyone is white, well-fed, well-dressed, and polite? i mean, where would i want to raise a child? would i want him (or her) to have to hand a bum some money when they're only three years old? would i want him to see that the world is not white? would i want him to be safe and have a yard to play in and neighbors who have block parties and the doors do not have to be locked?
maybe i'm ahead of myself and these questions are premature. or on the other hand, maybe they're not.
