Impressions of what life was like for the colonists Essay

Life in the new world for the colonists was like nothing that individuals in today’s society can understand. After taking the Would You Have Survived the Colony quiz on the website, it is easy to see that surviving the colonial atmosphere might have been one of the most difficult tasks on earth. This is because of the differences in culture, in food, in work load, and with other important aspects of life that would take an awful lot of adjusting. When the Europeans came across the pond to colonize America, they had a lot of adjusting to do, as well. The first way that they had to adjust to the new world was with the environmental changes. Life in America was rough because of all of the elements. Europe was a flat area with a lot of rain and average weather. When they came to America, they had to put up with mountains, with rivers, and with lots of other elements. There was also the animals that they had to adjust to. Because the United States was just being colonized and modernized, lots of wild animals were running around where people were living. Among them were predators like bears and big cats. When people went out to find food or to cut wood, they had to put up with this nuisance. This was how life was so difficult and it was something that people of today’s culture would struggle with. When taking that quiz, I thought about the clothes that people would wear if they had to go back to that time. I like to be in nice clothes. Though I do not have to have the latest in fashion, I do like to keep up with the times. Back then, the clothes had to last a long time and they had to be able to stand up to the elements. People had to track through the woods, so the clothes had to be able to put up with that challenge. Since there was no air conditioning or heating at the time, the clothes also had to be much more of an insulator in the difficult times. This would be a difficult adjustment for someone like myself if I were to go back in time. The last and most important thing is the overall work ethic and lifestyle that would have to be employed. Every time those people wanted something, they had to work hard for it. If they wanted a fire, they had to cut down some wood and start the fire. If they wanted to eat something, they had to go kill it and cook it. There were no fast food restaurants to go grab food at. Today, people go to work in order to make money to buy nice things. Those people had to go to work in order to keep themselves and their families alive. That was in addition to actually protecting themselves from the elements and the things in the environment that were so difficult. Overall, life in the colonial period was difficult and it would definitely be an adjustment for anyone who had to go back in time and face it. The differences in the economy and with the environment are so profound that people had to go through a whole lot each and every day. The main difference is that there were no days off if you felt bad or simply needed some rest.