Dirt

I’ve always liked dirt. When I was younger, my favorite way to get my sister outside was to make mud pies. We would take a wagon and a bunch of bowls and fill the wagon with sludge concoctions of every shape and size, and then try to sell them to our family to make money to buy the toys we wanted. When I got a little older dirt started to disinterest me because it was gross and that wasn’t what the big kids did. But I still found myself going for walks and sometimes just sitting and running my fingers through it. When I was in high school I loved the dirt because it meant being out near the football field. Dirt meant that I had free time and could go on my walks—away from the world, my family, my schoolwork, afterschool activities, and responsibilities. Dirt meant that I could sit and have some time between God and me. I still like dirt. I still go on walks and learn about the world and learn to love the world, and wonder what God wants me to do for it. 

People are so distracted nowadays. I constantly watch others—and myself—plug into the world through an Internet portal or a wifi connection. We are all given so much information and yet I couldn’t tell you the first thing about any recent governmental legislation. Something happened in France about a month ago and I had no idea until it was brought up in a pageant interview.

Some of the best memories I’ve made in my lifetime come from me being surrounded by dirt. I was completely dirty, and tired, and worn out, but I was happy. My worst fear for my sister is that she won’t remember a life like that. Children aren’t going to remember their childhood because all it will be is a constant stream of apps, likes, and DMs. It’s easy for life to become a blur when all you look at is a screen. There is so much to learn but so much is lost inside pointless television shows with no value.

I believe in dirt. I believe in finding the value in every living thing, and learning things through experience—not just through a web article. I believe that changing the world means loving it—all of it. You can’t love a world you don’t see.

The world is full of dirt—all kinds—and I believe in learning to love it all.