Journal 14

The Things They Carried

Compared to the men in the story, "The Things They Carried," complaining that my backpack weighs too much seems silly. They had to carry so much just to stay alive, whereas my clothes probably weigh 10 pounds (when I'm in jeans.) O'brien wrote, "They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried" (1462).  This makes me think about what we carry mentally, some days it just feels like too much to bear.

If I were a soldier in Lieutenant Jimmy Cross' unit, I would carry chocolate with me at all times. It seems a little juvenile, and impractical in the heat of Vietnam's summer, but for me it is about so much more than a delicious snack. For one thing I've become addicted to it, if I go a few days without the caffeine from chocolate I get horrible headaches. On the other hand chocolate makes me think of family, when a family member comes back from a trip to Europe they always bring swiss or german chocolate back for the rest. My mom is the same way about chocolate that I am, it unites us in a silly way. I'm not sure how I would keep it in my pack, probably like Jimmy Cross' letters, I'd put it in a plastic bag and eat some when I was tired, scared, hungry, homesick, you name it, the chocolate would help.

I would also carry photographs, one of my family, probably the picture I have framed on my desk right now, of all of us after my graduation at our favorite Mexican Restaurant. Then I'd have a picture of me and my best friends, I can't imagine getting through a day, much less a war, without hearing from my best friend and roommate. Then, as cheesy as it sounds I would have a picture of my dog, she's a 12 year old golden retriever, and I don't know how much longer she's going to live.

Vietnam happened about 30 years before I was born. I can't imagine what it was like, I'm also a woman, so luckily I would never have had to find out. Reading this story makes me so thankful that all I carry every day are the clothes on my back and the books in my bag.