The Things I Carried

At the age of 18 it doesn’t seem like there’s much I should have to worry about or carry at this point. However, my life revolves around responsibilities and social activities of which I would be lost without if I was not carrying the necessary items.

First there’s my bright pink Vera Bradley wallet (bright enough so that I can spot it in my endless purse), my safe haven and treasure chest of goodies that contain such jewels as my driver’s license, not quite sufficient enough to get me into bars; my library card…the jewel that allows me to escape this crazy hectic world into one of surreal tranquility, love and joy; money…the treasured item I never have nearly enough of but am always working for…the item that literally keeps me going, it’s like the one thing you want the most but will never have enough of…however, money doesn’t mean everything to me and I think that’s why I’m ok with never have plenty of it. Life is happier, simpler, and better when there’s little/no money. Or I could just be happy because I always have my debit card to fall back on…that little gem gets me out of trouble when cash bails out on me…or is simply there for me when a new outfit or pair of shoes is undoubtedly necessary…I would literally die without it.

Next there’s my teal Vera Bradley key ring. This tiny compartment holds my ID Card…the symbol of my new life. I would be lost, hungry and cold without my ID card so I make sure to never leave the house without it. On my key ring is the one and only key that matters in my life right now, the key to my dorm… my new place of living where new memories and mistakes have already been made but where so many more are to come.

Around my neck I carry my favorite multi-colored pink scarf…the one piece of home that I can carry around with me at all times without question. It smells and feels like home…relaxing any stresses I accumulate over the hours of the grueling days of classes. If classes aren’t so grueling it’s just there as a safety blanket, holding my head on straight keeping me warm and cozy on the bitter cold of January days, just as my family would be if I were home.

Around my shoulder I carry a bag my roommate gave me for Christmas. In that bag I carry my books…my future. The cause of most of my anxiety here at school. They’re heavy but as I take them out one by one I realize that all of this is not impossible… that little by little I can and will accomplish my dreams and goals. Also in that bag I carry pens, pencils, highlighters and sticky notes. The few simple tools I need to do a job well done. My connection to the world, my 5th limb, if you will lies in the front pocket of that bag…clearly within easy reach so that I’m never too far away. My small black seemingly indestructible cell phone is the cause and cure of most of my anxiety. I wonder if I have missed messages/calls, what my friends are doing while I’m cooped up in the classroom and what’s new on “Facebook”. And while I wait in that classroom which has zero service I can’t focus on anything but those burning questions. I drink water to cleanse my body, keep me rejuvenated, fight hunger, and relax myself. The calmness of the water is contagious and it makes me feel so focused and pure. Once out of the classroom though where the connection to the world has been reestablished, the rest of my anxiety melts away and I am no longer anxious but idle. As idle as the water. Idle and happy about not looking for love/boyfriend but just going with the flow, that I’m finally okay with who am I and who I want to become.

The final thing I carry is my pink bracelet on my left wrist. This bracelet has many of the Catholic religious figures on it…keeping me faithful and strong when I’m feeling hopeless and weak. It reminds me to pray…reminds me to never forget what my knees are for and that my situation is never the worst…when all else fails I look at this bracelet to get me through…all of the things I carry are necessary but this one item is crucially so.

The Things They Carried

Jimmy Cross carried the letters because it gave him something to believe in and rely on, it gave him hope and a sense of something to keep going for...many of the other characters had similar objects (toothbrushes, condoms, etc.) all of which seem completely unnecessary given their circumstances but to each individual character these items could not be done without becuase these items gave the same hope and sense of self for these individual characters as the letters from Martha give to Jimmy Cross...the photographs are reminders of happier times and a better life, a life without fighting and such emotional toil...the author throws in humerous tidbits such as:
"medic carried M&Ms for especially bad wounds...riflemen carried 8.4 lbs - 14 lbs of magazines & when available M-16 maintenance gear"
^ funny how the medic carried M&Ms...ridiculous that the riflemen carried 14 lbs of magazines (seemingly unnecessary) and only carried M-16 maintenance gear "when available"...seems twisted and out of order

Lieutenant blamed himself for the loss of a soldier because he was spending too much time thinking of the love of his life (Martha), this probably happened often with young men in the armed forces they take their mind off of their mission for one minute and it most likely ends in a casulty... that coincides with the quote:

"they all carried all they could bear, & then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power the things they carried."
^ the soliders understand the physical and emotional weight of the things they carried, both personal and required

"they all carried ghosts"
^all of the things that the men help onto so great (pantyhose, vitamins, etc) were all just to try and keep them as alive and functioning as possible however these objects are like ghosts, they don't really have any real meaning anymore

"imagination was a killer" - Cross's imagination literally is...it is his inability to focus that causes him casulties

the description of Strunk coming back from the cave (all zombie like) could be correlated to the way the men from war appeared once they finally came home...like Zombies with little to no life in them anymore...i don't understand the moral of the war and the thumb and the other objects and events that the soldiers describe but they believe there is a moral, one that can not be clearly stated or explained...i like how the author goes from crucial to emotional objects it really emphasizes their situation and the degree of their sufferings/emotional burdens.

"their principles were in their feet...calculations...no strategy"
^more emphasis on how the soldiers became less and less like people and more and more like robots due to their situation

for all the mysteries and unknowns of war there was always at least one single certainty...they would never be at a loss for things to carry...their lives, their families, their return home were all uncertain events but their bags would always be full regardless. They may die...but they will die with their bags full...

"it was the burden of being alive"
^sometimes being alive was harder than being dead.
"they were afraid of dying but even more afriad to show it...just to avoid the blush of dishonours...it was not courage rather they were too afriad to be cowards"
^ the male ego is a very powerful tool...it was the very last thing keeping them going

The Road Not Taken

This poem is about how there is always a crossroads during everyone's lives at one point or another...

• 2 roads that can be taken in life (usually easy path and the difficult path)
• the person tried to see as far as he could down one path to see if it would be the easier one to take...he could only see so far, to where it "bent into undergrowth"
• he decided to take the 2nd path and to his surprise it wasn't that bad. it was a little more difficult because it was "grassy" and not as beaten and smooth but overall they were really about the same
• that morning the person made a decision to take the 2nd path and keep moving forward...never go back
• he says he will go down the 1st path at another time but he knows this is probably untrue
• many years later he will be telling his story of how he came to a crossroads and chose a path less traveled and it made him who he was today
• had he taken the other path he might have been a completely different person with different values, morals, etc.

I think the poem is trying to convey to the reader that the easy road is not always the best road, sometimes the more difficult roads, the ones with paths less clear and easy are the ones that teach us the most about ourselves, our abilities, and what we can overcome. It is these difficult paths, the difficult situations and issues that effect us in life that truly make us who we are at the end of the day.