I often forget my own privileges of living in 2016. If I were to go back in time, how might my life be different? What things would I lose? What things would I gain? Well, if I were a young pioneer girl, my life would very different from how it is now.
To start, I would not be typing on my laptop right now. Or my phone. Or any electronic device. My entertainment would most likely come from doing chores, telling stories, and singing songs. Maybe drawing, or writing, provided I could read and write. That brings up another difference. I might not be writing this, because I might have no school. Or, at the least, my life would not be very school focused as it is now. My school would be a tent at most, and the rest of my time would be devoted to chores like sewing up clothes, or whatever my mama and papa asked of me.
Another thing that might change is my relationship with nature. Without my house or internet, and with the consistent state of being outside, I would expect to be more connected to nature. I would know the names of almost all the trees I passed along my journey. I would know the best way to start a fire, and how to care for a wagon. And maybe, instead of looking at my watch for 3 to 4 numbers to represent the time, I might look at the sky, guess based upon the sun’s position, and call it sunrise instead of 6:30 AM. Little details like that might change.
I also might have a different connection with my family. Instead of locking myself in my room to do homework at night, I might tend to livestock with my father, or sing and sew dresses with my mother. I might be able to cook up delicious concoctions over a fire with my family at dinnertime instead of making a box of mac’n’cheese. I might know them a little bit better if I rarely left them, and they might know me a little better as well.
Another less-thought-about thing that may change are my dreams and aspirations. Instead of dreaming to be a famous musician, a poet, an author, or a youtuber (that would change the most), I might dream on a smaller scale. Maybe I'd want to know the forest and the trail better than anyone else, or maybe I'd want to become an adventurer. Maybe I'd want to start a town for myself. That would be considered a big dream, especially for a young pioneer girl.
One more thing to add to the list is attire. My normal outfits consist of jeans, a graphic tee-shirt, and boots. Believe it or not, I would not be wearing any of those things in the 1800s. First: none of them had been made; and second: a girl would not be wearing pants in the back then, especially blue jeans. Another fun thing to think about, or else very odd, is that people who wear glasses probably wouldn’t be, had they been living in the 1800s. Glasses had been invented, but they weren’t popular at all, and pioneers probably had other things to focus one.
Lastly, I’m not sure if I would be more carefree or more stressed had I been born back then. Yes, school wouldn’t be an issue, but I would have many chores and a lot of hard work put in front of me each day. I would have to be up early if that’s when I was needed, and I would have to eat what I was given or what I made, because that’s all there was.
To conclude, life as a pioneer girl would be very different in comparison to mine, although it would be fun to go back in time and try it, but it also makes me appreciate the little privileges in life I rarely stop to think about. It makes me remember how easy it is to just go home and listen to music on my phone, when a hundred years ago, that was unthinkable. It makes me want to travel back in time, but it also reminds me to love my own home. I don’t have to be a pioneer to be in touch with nature or my family, I can do those things with just a little extra effort in my day.
(Photo from: https://thereaganwing.wordpress.com/2011/03/20/fraudulism-and-the-new-american-pioneer/)
