As the new year rolls around we have several goals bumbling in our heads, new missions to accomplish, and relationships we would like to kindle or end.  In essence, the new year is like a subliminal restart for the mind, but that's all.

The Thorn is a new page with PEAC, ironically, my New Year's Resolution.  Though I could give you a long-winded explanation about who I am with every tiny bit of information about myself, I'll just keep my first post short and sweet. However, I am not as sweet as this first post seems to indicate. That's why I call myself Thorn.

To keep to the introduction, I am involved with PEAC due to my affiliation with The Jimmy Carter Delegation. This delegation is a group of high school students in Americus, southwest Georgia that study abroad in Konu-cho, Miyoshi City, Hiroshima Prefecture,  Japan. It's called the Carter Delegation because the relationship between Americus and Konu-cho was created when Jimmy Carter went there in 1990 to return a temple bell that he saw as a spoil of war. Now there is a Jimmy Carter Civic Center in Konu-cho, and we have been exchanging students ever since. Luckily, I met one of the co-founders of PEAC in Konu, leading to a fabulous friendship and "pen-palship." He asked me to blog here and tell you what the Americus-Konu relationship looks like from the point of view of a student in Americus.

For my first post, I want to line out what my agenda is with The Thorn, though I recognize that throughout this blogging process, I will learn how to communicate better so it could change a lot. And, hopefully, you will learn something from my posts about how a college student from Americus thinks about peace, nuclear weapons, Japan, international relations, and art.  I plan to hit on key aspects in my life in controversial realms, and within particular mindsets. This blog, in theory, should be pretty broad, but then again-- this is my first time even writing in for the public. (I'm 18 and in my first year of college.)

I guess you could say I'm in a "New Year, New Me" mentality, but I don't think that is a productive mindset.  So scratch that. Blogging for me is going to be like a permanent sprout; forever growing.  I say this because the "New Year, New Me" mindset leads inevitably to outcomes that differ little from previous "New Year, New Me" urges.  In other words... If you just say you are renewed or you just say you are a changed person, that does not amount to a significant turning point.  You have to build up to a "New Me" mentality and you have to go into the new year with high hopes, but humble expectations.  For example, I hope to be a better blogger in the near future, but I am expecting gradual progress, not a sudden change.  Nothing immediate.  The subliminal mindset is that people, especially people my age, expect a rapid output. We are surrounded by rapid output, high-speed technology, and a fast-paced life. It seems to me we should go on a mission with baby steps so we can be more careful as we set and work toward our desired goals. And that will give more satisfaction in the end.

My mission with PEAC is to aid myself in branching out and being "more out there", but I am here to learn along with PEAC's current and future viewers.  Having the chance to grow and develop through a site like this-- with people who are interested in what I have to say about politics, life, and development-- is simply amazing.  

I am so excited to be a part of the PEAC team and am hoping for some wonderful, if gradual, output, but I'm also expecting great things from you! I look forward to your replies. 

Happy New Year,

Thorn