Anne Reminds Me to Live Simply

Lately, with all of the cool, hip gadgets this world has come up with to tempt the "average Joe", I have gotten lost in them all.  There are iPads, iPhones, and cute and expensive clothes that are extremely hard to resist buying even without even having the needed money.  Our race has gotten sucked up into the "I want more" norm.  And it is time to have a reality check. The check can be possible with simple reminders in our daily lives like Anne Bradstreet's "To Her Father With Some Verses".  In this poem, Anne states that she would rather live simply with little to pay than live extravagantly with much debt.  In this day in age, people think the opposite way.  We create, sell, and buy in order to feel good about ourselves and feel apart of the loop.  I enjoy Anne's poem because it keeps be humble and it could do the same for most others who were to read it as well.  When I get my head out of the clouds, I am able to see things rationally, the same way Anne did.  I agree with her completely and I think that if people were to just open their eyes, they will truly see like both Anne and I.  If everyone were to drop the unnecessary items they are consumed with, mainly obtained just so they can feel accepted, then there will be no purpose in owning them.  Consumer products are all about having the next best thing but if people stopped forcing themselves to buy these things, they could spend their money on more rewarding purchases.  If people would quit blowing dollars left and right, they would be able to pull someone out of debt or help a homeless vet at a shelter.  Anything counts as long as it goes toward a higher purpose.  In conclusion, Anne's wise words go past her age and into the future because she speaks truly and about topics most people don't think twice about.

I can relate to Anne

I have realized that I rarely try to relate the poetry I read to my personal life.  I guess one isn't supposed to go out one's way and try to make connections, but I have never even naturally made connections before.  That is until I read "By Night When Others Soundly Sleep" by Anne Bradstreet.  This poem is about Anne as she lays in her bed in the midst of the night, dwelling on her life's problems.  She is stressed and is kept awake but when she thinks of her God, her discomfort is eased.  I can relate to this poem because I sometimes find myself laying in bed after a tough day and thinking of the passing time.  Stress overcomes the sleep and before I know it, it is 1 a.m.  However, when I am able to calm myself down and think about the big picture, with the help from God, I am able to relax.  Also, I have noticed that Anne's poems are not very specific with her time, which was the 1600s.  The poems I have read from her have all been on very broad and general topics that most people to understand.  If she meant to do this or not, I do not know, but that was very smart of her to do.  Because her pieces are not specific to one period of time and are such popular things to write about, religion and love, her work will never die down and be forgotten.  It won't be forgotten because she is a classic but she also won't be forgotten because she wrote about true events that happen in most people's lives.  Many people are kept awake at night due to their racing minds but stress is eventually relieved and the rest can take over.  Also, "To My Dear and Loving Husband" is about true, unconditional love which most people encounter in their lives.  Overall, Anne's work will never be forgotten because she spoke for the general public in a very relatable way.

The Book My Dad Came Home With for Me

This past Saturday I was running all over the place, busy doing various things and for the hour I was home, my dad came up to me and told me he got me something.  I was very excited because who doesn't like a good present?  Especially a surprise!  But, my dad retrieves the gift and hands me a book and the title read STOP Wondering If You'll Ever Meet Him.  I took it and just smiled.  I could not believe my eyes.  That my own father is buying me self help books at the age of eighteen, let alone a love self help book.  I was dumbfounded, completely hit with the fact that my life had come to this at such a young age.  And I know how bad this must look to you Mrs. Healey and all others who may be reading this, but I swear I am not that desperate and pathetic to have my own dad buy me this.  He knows I have been pretty unlucky with guys recently and he can probably tell that I have been distressed over it.  But this distress is normal for teenage girls so there is nothing to worry about.... I hope.  Anyway, I began to read this book and I can already understand and partially relate to what it is about.  The intro brings you across this fake scenario with a girl named Julie who meets fictional Sam and they hit it off for about two nights.  Then, out of nowhere, Sam drops off the face of the earth leaving Julie sad and confused.  She thought she had gotten so close to real love and a great future even after just two dates with this man.  The writers of this book, Ryan Browning Cassaday and Jessica Cassaday, get this spot on.  Girls dream even if given the tiniest of bait from a man.  We read into literally everything they do and say and we put our every happiness on the line when we plunge in with a man.  We also exaggerate all of our feelings and make our expectations way too high for realistic.  The realistic place this book brings me down to is that love is truly out there for me, even if it takes me decades to find it.  It is nice to be reminded this right now, because quite frankly I don't even have time for a guy nor should it be one of my priorities.  It gives me comfort thinking that when the time is right, it will happen and that I won't be alone forever.  I just need to stop looking and then it will be a natural occurance.  So, I am grateful for this book even though it was most likely written for a woman in her mid twenties.

To My Dear and Loving Husband

Anne Bradstreet, to me, is a very unique poet.  She is able to speak so easily of her love for her husband and then switch directions completely and give thanks to her God that eases her troubles in great symbolism and carefully chosen words.  "To My Dear and Loving Husband" is my favorite piece of hers because of the topic.  The simplicity of the message gives me chills because she has perfect comparisons entangled in the work.  For example, her love for her husband is so large that even the riches of the earth could not mean more to her than him and that her love is like a river that cannot be satisfied with all of the water on the planet.  She also compares the incompleteness of two halves to one whole.  The two halves are her and her husband and the whole would be her and him united.  She expresses the love and bond she has made with him and it truly warms my heart to read about it.  In fact, her poem gives me hope and has made me dream about my life coming to this place eventually.  The place in which you are no longer just living for yourself but you have discovered this completely new conception of your purpose.  For now, I can only look forward to this time in my life, whether it be sooner or later, but Anne helps me see how it is to love unconditionally.  Being a teenager, it has been hard to experience this feeling.  I have had my share of flings with other guys but they have never materialized in such a way as love.  But, I can imagine how great it must feel to be in Anne's shoes.  She knows that when she goes home at night, she'll see the reason she was put on Earth, the reason she was given a soul and a heart.  I am unbelievably jealous of Anne because I would love to skip over all of this awkward time of meeting guys and finding out who I am.  But, Anne must have gone through this too to find her other half so I guess the journey is unavoidable.  I am sure Anne would be pleased that even a young girl in Delaware in the twenty-first century has taken her feelings put to paper so seriously and thankfully.  Also, this poem serves purpose to anyone.  All can relate to it, even if you are not married because you could be like me and have no current relationship and find it meaningful and relatable.  Humans were made to love and created to serve others and Anne's work reminds me that this is to come in my life and that I should not give up hope yet.  So thanks, Anne.