It’s 7 in the morning, you step outside and ahhhhhhh . feel the cold crisp air, smell the sweet aroma of Indian summer. It’s fall, finally after all of those long hot days, which you worked like a slave sweating and dreaming of a day when the humidity would disappear and the temperature would be just a little bit cooler. There is something about fall that makes me nostalgic for those days when I lived at home. Living in the country during the fall cannot be beat. The farm turns into a busy factory-like atmosphere with tractors, wagons and trucks hauling grain through to the bins to be dried and stored for another day. Fall days remind me of sack lunches and apple pie, generally eaten while in a tractor seat or in the back of an old field car.

As a child, fall days were highlighted with rides in the combine – quality time with Dad – something that generally doesn’t happen very often for farm children, due to the immense amount of time needed for farming. Watching through the window as the corn is pulled into the corn head, learning the facts of life all the while. Gazing through the window as the pheasants are stirred, making a pretty silhouette against the bursting autumn colors.

Yes, a farm kid is blessed to have all of these memories. But farm kids aren’t the only ones who get to enjoy the beauty of fall. Each and every person has the chance to appreciate it. As a college students, Iowans and Americans we are blessed. Not just because we get to enjoy the beauty all around us, but also because we live in a country with an immense amount to give to its citizens. At this point in time with the tuition hikes, insecurity over in Iraq and the constant uncertainties of farming it is easy to forget how truly fortunate we are.

It seems that when you go to college you sort of forget what happens in the real world. It becomes not so important and unless it makes the front page of the newspaper, attention is not required. Reality becomes where the best party is this weekend, what clothes are needed to be in the highest fashion, and what needs to be done first, homework or committee work.

Understandably, not all students would stop and think and agree that their lives revolve around college. But would all students be able to stop and say that they are enjoying the fall and that they realize the importance of being proud to live in this country?

It’s most likely not going to happen. Enjoying the seasons is an important part of loving where you live, which is imperative for patriotism. What is patriotism? Is it using the best weapons to fight your enemy, is it having the largest flag in your yard? Or maybe it is having white skin and United States residency for at least 50 years? It’s news to me that because my relatives showed up 110 years ago, that makes me the superior American Citizen. If I remember correctly, my great-great-great grandfather was a stowaway and almost didn’t make it in to the United States. Does that mean that I shouldn’t be allowed to enjoy the beauty that is the United States of America?

That farm in southwest Iowa would not belong to my family if a young boy from Birn, Germany would not have decided that he wanted to enjoy the beauty of the United States. Surely back in 1897 he too gazed at the colors of autumn and realized the importance of freedom and opportunity. He saw the importance of hard work and faithfulness. Often it is easy to forget, because we have gotten so comfortable with life. Our comfortable lives are due to the sweat and tears of others from long ago.

So as you enjoy your birthright to look at the beauty of an American fall, remember those who are not as blessed. Think of your relatives; remember their struggles to fit in. Don’t carry on without first stopping to realize the perfect life you have been given. Maybe you don’t have the money to buy the latest clothes, maybe you struggle with your statistics class and maybe your family is losing a major material possession. Just remember how blessed you are to enjoy an American fall.

It’s 7 p.m. in the morning, you step outside and ahhhhhhh . feel the cold crisp air, smell the sweet aroma of Indian summer. It’s fall, finally after all of those long hot days, which you worked like a slave sweating and dreaming of a day when the humidity would disappear and the temperature would be just a little bit cooler. There is something about fall that makes me nostalgic for those days when I lived at home. Living in the country during the fall cannot be beat. The farm turns into a busy factory-like atmosphere with tractors, wagons and trucks hauling grain through to the bins to be dried and stored for another day. Fall days remind me of sack lunches and apple pie, generally eaten while in a tractor seat or in the back of an old field car.

As a child, fall days were highlighted with rides in the combine – quality time with Dad – something that generally doesn’t happen very often for farm children, due to the immense amount of time needed for farming. Watching through the window as the corn is pulled into the corn head, learning the facts of life all the while. Gazing through the window as the pheasants are stirred, making a pretty silhouette against the bursting autumn colors.

Yes, a farm kid is blessed to have all of these memories. But farm kids aren’t the only ones who get to enjoy the beauty of fall. Each and every person has the chance to appreciate it. As a college students, Iowans and Americans we are blessed. Not just because we get to enjoy the beauty all around us, but also because we live in a country with an immense amount to give to its citizens. At this point in time with the tuition hikes, insecurity over in Iraq and the constant uncertainties of farming it is easy to forget how truly fortunate we are.

It seems that when you go to college you sort of forget what happens in the real world. It becomes not so important and unless it makes the front page of the newspaper, attention is not required. Reality becomes where the best party is this weekend, what clothes are needed to be in the highest fashion, and what needs to be done first, homework or committee work.

Understandably, not all students would stop and think and agree that their lives revolve around college. But would all students be able to stop and say that they are enjoying the fall and that they realize the importance of being proud to live in this country?

It’s most likely not going to happen. Enjoying the seasons is an important part of loving where you live, which is imperative for patriotism. What is patriotism? Is it using the best weapons to fight your enemy, is it having the largest flag in your yard? Or maybe it is having white skin and United States residency for at least 50 years? It’s news to me that because my relatives showed up 110 years ago, that makes me the superior American Citizen. If I remember correctly, my great-great-great grandfather was a stowaway and almost didn’t make it in to the United States. Does that mean that I shouldn’t be allowed to enjoy the beauty that is the United States of America?

That farm in southwest Iowa would not belong to my family if a young boy from Birn, Germany would not have decided that he wanted to enjoy the beauty of the United States. Surely back in 1897 he too gazed at the colors of autumn and realized the importance of freedom and opportunity. He saw the importance of hard work and faithfulness. Often it is easy to forget, because we have gotten so comfortable with life. Our comfortable lives are due to the sweat and tears of others from long ago.

So as you enjoy your birthright to look at the beauty of an American fall, remember those who are not as blessed. Think of your relatives; remember their struggles to fit in. Don’t carry on without first stopping to realize the perfect life you have been given. Maybe you don’t have the money to buy the latest clothes, maybe you struggle with your statistics class and maybe your family is losing a major material possession. Just remember how blessed you are to enjoy an American fall.

Danelle

Zellmer

is a junior in public service and administration in

agriculture from Atlantic.