The inside of my mind is an entirely crazy place at times. My thoughts are always crowded, exploding from one another. If you tried to find your way through them, you would end up confused, stuck in some sort of maze that doesn't seem to have an exit. As crazy as it may sound, if you're anything like me, you may have already realized or will eventually realize you feel at peace in rural areas. The daily rush and chaos of the suburbs or city isn't meant for me. I'm meant to be in a place where the open fields are as vast as the seas and appear to never end. Perhaps in a place like that, I would finally be able to sort out my thoughts. I've been there before... I had just turned sweet sixteen. It was May 5th of 2012 and one of my biggest dreams had come true. I was going to Lancaster Pennsylvania, the land of the Amish.

A few years previous to this date I read a book that first introduced me to who the Amish were and their way of life. At a fairly young age, I had my own laptop, a cell phone, a television in my bedroom, and more. In my confessions, I can openly admit that I probably could never live without the technology I have. In the same way that this is all I have ever known, not using technology is also all the Amish have ever known. I'm fascinated by the way they live and I admire them.

“Happy Birthday Rachel!” My mom and my best friend Jenna both exclaimed in unison. Jenna spent the night so we'd be able to hit the road early and therefore I was being woke out of my sound sleep. It was 7a.m when they woke me. I'm usually always the last person out of bed even if an exciting event is going to occur. “It's your birthday and you're getting ready to live out one of your dreams. Get up!” A voice inside my head attempted to persuade me. “I'm so tired though!” A clearly different part of my mind argues back. Fifteen minutes after motivating me to get up, I was in the shower and getting myself ready. My mom's friend Matt was going to be here soon, he's going to be the one who drives us to our destination. I put on a white shirt that said Wild Spirit in pink letters with ripped jeans shorts and cowgirl boots. As I walked out from my bedroom, Matt was just pulling into the driveway. We were now on our way to Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

The car ride was one of the best parts of the whole trip, especially for Jenna and I. Surprisingly it's actually not a very long car ride at all. This is a trip that may seem insignificant to anyone else. “Who else would want to spend their sixteenth birthday in such a simple place.” I pondered to myself. “What does that matter? I'm different and that's something to be proud of.” I realized. “Oh my goodness, look how gorgeous this land is! This is so amazing, I want to live in a place like this.” Jenna and I made comments as we were both very thrilled and excited with the view during the car ride. We stared out the window, shouted out in a unison of joy, listened to music, and in an hour or so we were there.

As soon as the car was parked, Jenna and I jumped out. The air was different, it was so much more clear. I took a big breath of fresh air and gazed into the scenery surrounding me. There were tons of small shops, I wanted to go look in all of them. First thing is first, though, we were all hungry and were going to get breakfast before we did anything else. “Follow me to your seat” A humble Amish lady dressed in the stereotypical dress, guided us. “Please take a few moments to look over the menu and I will be right back to take your orders” she politely said. Aside from all of the delicious food, the menu had inspiring bible quotes written all over it. Although I hadn't eaten breakfast, I decided to get lunch; Cheese steak and Fries. Regardless of where I go, I'm not big on experimenting with new food. Jenna and I walked through the restaurant to go to the bathroom. There were inspiring books being sold, a bakery, and on the walls were beautiful pictures. Pamphlets of bible verses were everywhere for people to take. I am a strong believer in God and therefore took as many as I could as a souvenir. The lunch was delicious. Afterward, we looked through all of the shops.

My favorite part of the whole day was what we did next; we went on an actual carriage ride. There are a lot of people who live in Lancaster who are not actually Amish, and in order to get on the ride, we had to go to this lady's house to pay. She walked us through her back yard, where the carriages were located. We all got on and waited for the guy who was going to be driving us to return from his last trip. This was a ride that would take us from where we currently were, onto a local highway, then passed that and onto a couple of Amish farms about ten minutes away. We were going to stop on the farm, and would be allowed to look around for a bit. The Amish guy returned and got our ride started. “Hello”. He greeted us all.

“This is so peaceful”. I said with a smile. I was torn between taking a million pictures of the scenery or capturing it with my soul. I tried to do the perfect mixture of both. Words can't really describe the way you feel when you are in a scenery like this. The weather was warm with a slight breeze to keep us cool, all the more perfect as we rode through the farm lands. The sun was shining bright and flowers were bloomed everywhere I looked. There were animals roaming freely and there were no boundaries, not really for the animals nor for the people. “Something this beautiful doesn't just happen” I thought to myself. Nobody was really talking, we were too busy enjoying the peace. The Amish guy was giving us brief descriptions of everything we passed, but I could barely hear him. We soon approached one of the Amish houses. There were two little kids running around and a German Shepard lying on the ground that seemed to have no cares in the world even as us unknown people walked directly by him. A group of older Amish people were standing in a circle conversing. Jenna, my mom, Matt, and I walked around the area for a while, then we got on the carriage to finish our ride.

The rest of the ride consisted of riding by a lot more houses where Amish families seemed to be enjoying each others company outside, going by a small schoolhouse that taught all of the Amish children, and the only real interaction I had with one of them. I was still looking behind towards one of the farm houses as everyone else was focused on what was ahead of us. I saw an Amish teenage boy, maybe fifteen or sixteen riding a scooter along the path. I smiled at him and waved. “Jenna, you see that boy, he waved back to me”! I yelled. “No fair.” Jenna said. She tried to wave to him as well, but it was too late. I love the Amish, but most of the time they are not the friendliest people when it comes to associating with somebody who is not Amish, therefore I felt special.

One of the trips of my dreams would soon be over, but what I took from it would last forever. This life I live may get crazy, and these thoughts I ponder may drive me in insane, yet as long as I know there's a place in this world where time slows down, I can imagine. Everything we experience in life leaves us like the sands of time so it's our job to keep them alive inside of us. It doesn't matter how far we are or how much time passes, at the end of the day we are all under the same sky. Never underestimate the power of peace, as peace within ourselves is what will create peace in the families then also in the cities, the states, the countries, and the world. The Amish can teach us so much, if you open your eyes. The most important thing we can learn from the Amish is that materials and money do not bring us long lasting fulfillment’s; relationships do. We have all felt the pressure of being rushed, constantly having something to do, and at times we have wanted a more simple life, a time where all you do is enjoy the company of those surrounding you. If you find yourself unable to find peace, you will definitely be happy with the results if you visit Lancaster. I hope to go back one day soon, this is one of my favorite memories, and I am happy that this is how I spent my sweet sixteenth birthday.