While there are very few foods I could eat everyday for the rest of my life, it’s not that difficult to choose three. The first would be tacos. I have always had a love for tacos, its something about the combination of spices that make them irresistible to me. Second would be pizza, truly the ultimate food item. If variety is the spice of life, then pizza is salt and pepper (and lets face it, probably oregano and garlic too). It truly has every base covered; you can put anything on that circle of dough. For this reason alone, I would never die wanting to eat anything else. Lastly is not a food, but a drink. One thing I cannot live without is skim milk. There is little rhyme or reason to this other than habit, but there are few days that I go without the beverage. Whether it is with breakfast, lunch, or dinner I always need a glass.

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I had the pleasure of going on a trip to Central America this past spring break, and there I saw the most beautiful sights I could imagine. The best among the best resided in the small country of Belize. Although smaller than the state I reside in, the tropical area was filled with life and wonderful landscapes. While zip-lining through the canopy of the rainforest I saw massive trees teeming with insects and primates. Birds, of all different colors, would fly from the trees as you travelled from one tree to the next. Even in the distance of the horizon, you could see a small glance of the ocean and coastline. But as you travelled through this canopy, the most amazing sight was just being surrounded by the green foliage, everywhere life. The sight reminded me of Joyce Kilmer’s famous poem: “Think that I will never see / A poem as lovely as a tree / Poems are made by fools like me / But only God can make a tree.”

If I won the lottery today, assuming as I have to that it is a large pot, I would be able to change a lot of things about my life. However, I do not know how much I would actually alter.  At my age, the money probably would not last me the rest of my life, and I am too ambitious in my current education to just retire. I would first off pay for my large amounts of student loans. The rest I would use to buy a nice apartment and furnish it with some cool technology and other amenities. Other than that, I would invest the rest of the money, and bide time until I am older and want money for a nice house and car.

Image by Phil Scoville via Flickr

A family tradition is a way to convey a historical and genealogical meaning to your children through contemporary means. Therefore, the best tradition is one that combines past and present, while bringing a family together. My tradition would be the same way started by my family back in my childhood, even if it has not been retained for quite some years. This is the annual Labor Day retreat to my grandparent’s farm and subsequent camping trip. It starts with a family reunion in the park, where we would visit relatives that we had not seen in awhile and some I have never remembered meeting. Afterwards we would spend the weekend camping at lake, filling days with fishing, kayaking, and swimming. At nights we would hang out by a bonfire and cook. Those days were traditional and unforgettable, and I would be amiss to not share them with my own family one day.