American Life in Photos (Blogger repost)

American Life: Photo Perspective

Jacob Roberts

Regarding my life at Maryville College, despite many of my perennial complaints, I always have a feeling of overwhelming respect and appreciation for this institution that overrides my gripes.  I am the 17^th member of my family to attend Maryville College, so perhaps I have some extra reverence for this place because of that.  I think it is difficult to argue that the campus is beautiful in appearance and venerable in its traditions- and the mature and admirable conduct of its faculty and staff that make this a nice place to come to school.

In thinking about my American life, something that stands out is the American obsession with guns, violence, and action.  I think this photo of Chuck Norris encapsulates those sentiments quite nicely.  Our country, not unlike many others, was founded by radical action by an armed and enraged group that took a decisive stand.  Our country seems to venerate the tradition of action and force of arms- for better or worse.

In identifying the distinguishing characteristics of the American life, the spirit of the American “Wild West” is as loud, proud, and prolific in our current country as it was in the 1800s.  The cutthroat, self-made lifestyle and freedom of the days of the Wild West sculpt our current political and cultural landscape in a big way.  See also: Rugged Individualism.

Speaking of rugged individuals: Teddy Roosevelt.  What I admire about this man and what I think makes him relevant as a descriptor of American society today is that I feel he embodied living freely and independently in the best possible ways.  He set about his life with exuberance and decision, but with thoughtfulness and prudence.  I think he struck a good balance for himself, a balance I hope dearly for in my country today.

It’s America’s game and it’s awesome and brings everyone together!

Americans have always been innovative and influential thinkers, creators, philosophers, and visionaries.  Even today as our country struggles with a culture of anti-intellectualism (perhaps a casualty of our veneration of the common man and rugged individualism), I still see a great wisdom in our people as a whole.

This photo of Armstrong on the moon really defines for me an American obsession with pushing the limits of the conventional and possible- and defines an essential part of the American spirit.

Since the inception of our country, we have debated amongst ourselves as Americans not only how important our freedom really is, but what our freedom really even means.  Lincoln’s vision of freedom for Americans won out through the Civil War- but the competing visions of freedom that caused that conflict are still entrenched in our country today.

We’re all insanely different in America- and I believe this is our greatest and most unique strength.

This campus and this country share a nobility and sincerity of ideals that I think is incredible, truly unique, and powerful in its own right.

"American College Student" summed up in a few photos

I put this photo first because i feel that is it the most "American!" This photo was taken at an Independence Day celebration. We always have a huge barbeque, lots of family and friends over, and shoot our own fireworks in addition to attending the local firework show. In this picture, we are playing with sparklers!

My family takes yearly vacations to the east coast beaches. In these pictures, we are at Cape San Blas, Florida, which is in the Gulf of Mexico. It is so beautiful there; the beaches are not crowded at all and the water is, for the most part, clear.

This picture is from the same beach trip. You can see that we were the only people on the beach at this time! My family loves to boogie board on our small east coast waves.

This is from the same beach trip. Here, we are snorkeling. On this snorkeling adventure of our, we saw so many fish, including puffer fish, scallops, angel fish, sea urchins, and jellyfish!

This is from the same beach trip. We found a small part of the beach near a national park and explored it. There was hardly anyone there for miles! The driftwood on this part of the beach was very abundant.

I LOVE to rock climb. East Tennessee has some of the best rock climbing you can find in the US. I got into it about two years ago when i got to Maryville College. I have a goal, although not very realistic, to become a professional tour guide for climbing expeditions.

Here is another picture of climbing. here, a friend of mine is belaying me while i stop to snap a picture of us. I am about ten feet up on the rock at this point.

Outdoor life is huge in East Tennessee. With the mountains so close, there are ample opportunities to go on gorgeous hikes, caving trips, climbs, hunting, and camping. The above picture was taken while on a camping trip with the Boy Scouts in the mountains in East TN. The creeks are beautiful, and getting to string my hammock across one was an exciting opportunity!

Chances are, if you live in East TN, you either hunt or know someone who does. I go hunting with my dad when i get the chance. We hunt for deer, turkey, and duck. It is a good time to spend a few quite hours in the woods and unwind while looking for your next year's supply of meat!

In this picture, I am about to take a short hike in East TN with some family and friends.

My BSA Venturing Crew and Troop are posing after participating in a Memorial Day service at Dollywood. I felt so "American" at this ceremony when, as i was holding the US Flag and in my scouting field uniform, the National Anthem started playing and eagles began squawking in the background -- how COOL!

More of my scouting friends and i take a group picture while taking a break from volunteering at the BSA Winter Camp here in East TN

My mother has always taken our heritage very seriously. Here, she and I are holding our certificates from the Daughters of the American Revolution organization, Our Patron is Robert Payne - he was known as “Cannonball Bob” after he fought in the American Revolution because he was rumored to have caught a cannonball that did not explode and passed it onto his family once he died. We got our certificates right before Christmas - which is very widely celebrated.

Since I’ve been in college, I’ve been to countless concerts and many music festivals. These are very big in TN since we have so many great farms and open fields to hold outdoor concerts. One of the most famous festivals in TN is Bonnaroo - I have been once and look forward to attending again. This picture is one i took while at Bonnaroo this year. We are standing underneath the arch - which is one of the festival's signature decorations.

I can entertain myself with many more concert and festivals while waiting for the larger festivals like Bonnaroo. This picture is the view of a festival in Middle TN called Pilgrimage. Some artists to perform at this festival include Wilco, Willie Nelson, Weezer, Cage The Elephant, Steven Tyler, The Decemberists, Sheryl Crow, Band Of Horses, Dawes, Punch Brothers, Iron & Wine, Neko Case, and Trampled By Turtles.

This picture was taken at Pilgrimage of The Decemberists performing.

This picture is from a Glitch Mob concert in Nashville, TN. You can see me on the far left on someone's shoulders with my hands in the air!

Since i was younger, I have always been heavily involved in choir. The above picture is of the Maryville College Concert Choir on their tour in DC in 2014.

This picture is of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The capital of our country is a very great place to site see! Even though our country is not very old, most of our history can be seen in some way in D.C. I've been here about five times.