Life is about living!

There are times when I don't like my job. Usually, it involves someone calling and giving me grief over something I have written. Or someone e-mails me and complains about how I don't know what I'm doing, the fact that I wasn't born in the community and don't currently reside here, which allows my views to be clouded. I think that my place of residence and the place where I was born shouldn't have anything to do with my ability to do my job. It obviously doesn't matter to the friends I have made in this community, which I would move here in an instant, but can't afford the rent.

However the majority of the time, I love my job! I know most people are rolling their eyes, but I do. I enjoy my colleagues, who work countless hours to get the job done. They take more whispers and dirty comments then anyone should have to, all while holding their heads high and smiling, which I believe shows a large amount of courage.

I am a little pawn where I live and no one cares about what I write about here. But no one sits on their porch in the evening drinking iced tea with their neighbors and friends. No one is interested in happenings of the community and I can't tell you any of my neighbor's names. I've only met my landlord twice and even though there is a neighborhood watch in my community, I can't go to sleep without checking all the locks twice, turning on all the outside lights and making sure all windows are rolled up on my car and the doors are also locked.

So, even though there is crime in this community, I feel safer walking the streets at night here, than I do at home. Besides, I love going to the schools and spending time with the teachers and students. Seriously, how many people get to meet Rudolph, or learn how to make gingerbread houses at the LEAAP Center? I've met many wonderful people who live in the community, people who volunteer at food pantries or put together fundraisers for children whose parents can't afford school supplies.

I have laughed with these people and cried with them. I've written stories in remembrance of their loved ones and about those that have been deployed overseas. I'm very lucky, when my sister was in a car accident, I was late to a school board meeting. I stayed for the meeting and after it was over the board members and administrative staff talked to me and answered all of my questions over what I had missed. The story I wrote wasn't so great but it was done, and my sister recovered.

Here is the deal, I can't tell you what happened in the community 30 or 40 years ago, I'm only 24, so I wasn't even alive then. Personally, if something happened that long ago then people just need to get over it. Life is all about living, you can't continue to live it if you are focused on the past.