The Definition of Strength

   Today is September 11th 2012, 11 years after the tragic events brought on through terrorist attacks took place this day.And today I wanted to make it a point to take a second and write this out.
   Its days like this that make me proud to call myself an american. And I know that may seem odd, but the connotation associated with "americans" is not a great one. Today, however, I can truly say I live in the best nation on earth. When youre in debt and youre still helping countless other countries to have better lives and freedoms that you enjoy and believe they should too thats when you know youre doing something right.And its events like 9-11 when the world stood still that not only reassures my pride in american but also my views on americas strength. Time and time again we are tested ,and time and time again we proceed through all the crap, through all the wars, through all the terrorism and the hate. Time and time again , we overcome, and we love, and we protect. Because this is america, not only home of the free but also the brave, the courageous, We are the ones who will stand up for the little guy when no one else will, and why? Because thats what we do. Because thats who we are.
   11 years ago as a five year old little boy I could not truly even begin to grasp the events taking place that day or the crazy repercussions that would ensue soon after. Now sitting here at 16 years of age and looking back I see the heart ache, I see the pain, and I see the brokenness, but even more than that I see pride. Every american, male or female, white or black, gay or straight, has  been affected by this day. Because not only did the tragedy change lives, but it also changed a country. Changed in a way that will never be fully understood or grasped by any one person because it wasnt the lives that were lost, or the terrorism that was acted out, but it was in the reaction where we showed our true strength, in the support and the growth, in the rebuilding and recovery. America has and will always be a strong nation, the only change would be how we define our strengths.
  Id also like to take a moment to remember not only the victims of 9-11 but also all those serving as a police officer, fire fighter, or overseas and many many more. You are the countries backbone and you should never be taken for granted. Thanks for reading,
-Colton Lewis

Complex Simplicity

     "Dont play with knives, theyll cut you" This simple phrase I heard from a mother to her toddler as I cleared off the table behind them. The simplicity of the statement made it all the more apparent to me. Most people wouldnt even have thought twice about what she said, most people would just think that that is just a normal statement, but me, I see a the complexity within it.
     Knives can be equated to nearly anything in your life. Dont play with lighters, or guns, or fires theyll all hurt you. Or even more dont play with hearts, itll  hurt you. In so many ways this phrase is multi leveled and complex. Everything in your life is set around a basic principal that things in life will hurt you, but its the ways in which we deal with them that shapes us as people. We all need people in our lives, whether new or old, that tell us "Hey you need to watch out for that, youre gunna get hurt". Without them we would all be no where, we would all be broken human beings, even more so than we already are.
    So I guess the reason this really caught me by surprise was that something as simple as that is still an issue, that everyone learns things at certain paces, and everyone lives their lives completely different. I could only hope to live my life in a way that I can influence others for the better, that someday I will be able to look at a child of my own and tell them "Hey, dont play with knives, they'll hurt you."
Thanks for reading