All in the Family

Since the both of us are far away from home, we cannot help but notice after one month that we are beginning to see Jackson in a completely different manner.

It all began one week ago when we asked each other what time we would be home for dinner. It has now escalated to finding our residence for next semester. Jackson is making us feel more and more at home. I mean, we must feel pretty welcome since we are considering another semester down here and all, right?

The people we have encountered this past month have really given us some southern comfort. When we came down with the flu, friends came to our bedsides bringing a wide variety of medicine for us to consume. We have also been cooked some astounding southern dishes; from savory seafood gumbo to a decadent bread pudding, the meals show the love and hospitality families and friends shower us with.

We also cannot forget to mention the company we have been fortunate enough to encounter. It is great to be able to talk to someone, or enjoy a Sunday dinner with a friend’s family, and feel so incredibly welcome. It is as if we have known them for years! They even send us back to our dorms with cookies and baked goods for our late night sweet tooth cravings.

Our new families even gave us advice regarding our latest adventure. We decided to find Jackson’s famous Greenwood Cemetery. We were told by many locals that Confederate soldiers were buried there; we just had to see it! We had looked up some directions on the Internet, but we decided to just go for a stroll downtown and hopefully run into it.

By mistake, we found ourselves off by a couple blocks and at the edge of what seemed to be an abandon neighborhood. After much thought, we decided we couldn’t put ourselves into a dangerous situation. We decided to stick to the main roads downtown.

The sights of the abandon homes we glanced at, gave us a feeling of fear. We, being two young women, could have easily been put into a dangerous situation. We know we keep telling you fellow Millsapians to venture out of the Millsaps community, but please never wander off alone!

A friend’s mother gave us her motherly advice, telling us to use our brains and to follow your gut instincts. She said Jackson has plenty to offer, you just do not need to travel off the beaten path to find it.

We finally run into the Greenwood Cemetery after a couple minutes of uncertainty.  We could not believe the history involved with this famous final resting place. We stumbled upon graves dating back to BEFORE the Civil War.  This was astonishing to us! We felt such an eerie presence as we walked between all the gravestones. We couldn’t help but imagine all of the stories buried with all those people. Who would have thought a cemetery could provide us with such entertainment?

Even though it took us an arm and a leg to get to the cemetery, we were extremely pleased we experienced such an encounter with Greenwood Cemetery. We just now need to use our instincts and make smart decisions for the other journeys and adventures we have planned!

We are very grateful for families and friends making us part of their families. It really makes Mississippi such a unique place full of people who care about us and our adventures we have planned!