When I was your age...

One thing that I absolutely enjoy more than words can really express, is hanging out with people that are 25 years or more my senior.

When I was in high school I never really thought that people older than me had much to teach me and then I wised up to the world and realized that I didn't know anything about anything. Now I really value the time that I get to sit and enjoy time with either my parents or in this case with my host family.

Tonight I went to dinner with my host parents and their friends and it was so interesting to hear about how the world used to be when they were younger and how much it has changed since then. They talked about politics and where they see the future of this country but they also talked about their first concerts and their favorite bands and other really interesting things.

I was just really touched by the way that they look at my generation, they acknowledge the fact that my generation is the future of this country and anything that we do whether good or bad is due to the raising and upbringing of their generation. Which I think is a pretty powerful statement to be able to acknowledge and take responsibility for something like that.

It was just really nice to be able to sit there with them and not talk but instead just listen. I felt like a fly on the wall at times because I was able to just sit their and soak up all of their conversation whether I agreed with all of it or not, it was such a learning experience. I believe that one of the best ways to have a great future is to learn about and learn from the generation that came before yours.

If we as a generation learn about the mistakes that our parents and their peers made we will not make the same mistakes. It seems like such a simple idea but I feel as if so many people don't take the time to sit and talk to their parents about their childhoods and the mistakes they made in life and I think  that is really sad.

We just have this one life to live and this one world to live in, lets make the best of it. Agreed?