"well I like to eat, sleep, drink, and fall in love"
I love that line
I read it in English today in a Langston Hughes poem (who I don't generally like)
I like how it makes love seem like something natural
and necessary
I love beautiful poetry
I love beautiful writing
when I went with my mother, sister, and grandma to the thirty strangers in thirty days photoshoot, the photographer asked me what I like to do.
I told him I dance.
he asked me why
I was kind of taken off guard by that, since I don't really get asked that very often, and especially not by strangers.
so I said "because it's fun"
he said "well water skiing is fun, too, but you didn't say that, did you?"
so I said "because it's beautiful"
and he said "so you like beautiful things, do you?"
and I laughed and he kept taking pictures.
but really
I do like beautiful things.
I think it's safe to say we all like beautiful things
I like inspiring and raw things.
I like dancing when I'm sweating and it's hard but because I make something beautiful.
I like reading poetry and books that have words laced so beautifully together I could cry reading them.
I like beautiful things. I like to find beauty in things. the photographer may have been just making a comment, but I thought it was lovely. because we all strive for beauty in our lives in different ways. I get my fix through dance and poetry and nature. you might find something else beautiful, but whatever it is you should surround yourself with it.
you've got every right to a beautiful life
Apr 25, 2011
Apr 19, 2011
conformity sucks
"Look closely at the present you are constructing
it should look like the future you are dreaming"
-Alice Walker
i woke up this morning and i made a resolution.
here is what led up to this:
i cleaned out my room this weekend, and found so many things from my childhood that had been hiding out in my room. i remembered what it was like to be me five years ago. i used to write all the time. i would write stories in my spare time and ask my family to read them and give me corrections. i was pretty good at it, too. my childhood imagination came up with some pretty great things. i used to draw, too. i used to get good grades in school and my teachers would send notes home that said great things about me. i had a book full of songs that i wrote, and i even dabbled in rap music (haha). i used to play the piano and guitar. i used to imagine my neighbors houses were drive through restaurants and banks and that when i turned my bike upside down it became an ice cream stand. i used to sell lavendar bushels on the side of the road. i used to play pocahontas at my church, where the grass islands were surrounded by water and we each had our own island. i used to let my imagination run wild. i used to wear two pigtails on different spots on my head. all of these things and more surfaced while i was going through my room. i was having a very nostalgic afternoon.
man, i had a great childhood.
which, of course, led me to think of my present day life.
i dont write for fun anymore. actually, i dont even write for school anymore. i dont write songs or play the guitar/ukulele/piano like i used to. i dont ride my bike to neighbors houses and pretend to withdraw a million dollars to go to the mcdonalds next door. i dont play outside everyday. i dont sit and imagine the possibilities.
this was a depressing realization. what had i been doing with my time, then? dance. facebook. ipod.sleep. these things have taken over my whole life. (notice that homework was not one of those things.... i should be doing more of that).
now, one day i was on the internet and looking at one of my favorite writer's blog. her name is keri smith and she writes some of my favorite books. my lovely sister introduced me to these. they speak to our soul.
keri smith wrote this lovely essay on how she discovered what she should be doing in life. (you can find that here)
it should look like the future you are dreaming"
-Alice Walker
i woke up this morning and i made a resolution.
here is what led up to this:
i cleaned out my room this weekend, and found so many things from my childhood that had been hiding out in my room. i remembered what it was like to be me five years ago. i used to write all the time. i would write stories in my spare time and ask my family to read them and give me corrections. i was pretty good at it, too. my childhood imagination came up with some pretty great things. i used to draw, too. i used to get good grades in school and my teachers would send notes home that said great things about me. i had a book full of songs that i wrote, and i even dabbled in rap music (haha). i used to play the piano and guitar. i used to imagine my neighbors houses were drive through restaurants and banks and that when i turned my bike upside down it became an ice cream stand. i used to sell lavendar bushels on the side of the road. i used to play pocahontas at my church, where the grass islands were surrounded by water and we each had our own island. i used to let my imagination run wild. i used to wear two pigtails on different spots on my head. all of these things and more surfaced while i was going through my room. i was having a very nostalgic afternoon.
man, i had a great childhood.
which, of course, led me to think of my present day life.
i dont write for fun anymore. actually, i dont even write for school anymore. i dont write songs or play the guitar/ukulele/piano like i used to. i dont ride my bike to neighbors houses and pretend to withdraw a million dollars to go to the mcdonalds next door. i dont play outside everyday. i dont sit and imagine the possibilities.
this was a depressing realization. what had i been doing with my time, then? dance. facebook. ipod.sleep. these things have taken over my whole life. (notice that homework was not one of those things.... i should be doing more of that).
now, one day i was on the internet and looking at one of my favorite writer's blog. her name is keri smith and she writes some of my favorite books. my lovely sister introduced me to these. they speak to our soul.
keri smith wrote this lovely essay on how she discovered what she should be doing in life. (you can find that here)
you have to read this essay.
i could relate to the whole thing. she basically realized that she wasn't where she was supposed to be in life, so she created a life that she could blossom in, full of inspiration and creative outlets. my mom is so very creative and so are each of her children, so she has taught us many ways to let our creativity go. that is probably why i had such a creative and imaginative childhood. keri smith went through school being told she was unoriginal, so she spent her time either skipping school or waiting till school was over so she could go home and create her own world.
her seven rules are:
1. you are invincible
2. you can create your own worlds/universes
3. convention sucks
4. mistakes are good (as long as they don't kill you)
5. the answers are everywhere
6. reading is crucial
7. question everything
she created the kind of world she could live in where she felt inspired and could be who she wanted. she questioned every rule that she was given. now, she is trying to teach others what she now knows.
it's time that we all fall in love with life again.
i could relate to the whole thing. she basically realized that she wasn't where she was supposed to be in life, so she created a life that she could blossom in, full of inspiration and creative outlets. my mom is so very creative and so are each of her children, so she has taught us many ways to let our creativity go. that is probably why i had such a creative and imaginative childhood. keri smith went through school being told she was unoriginal, so she spent her time either skipping school or waiting till school was over so she could go home and create her own world.
her seven rules are:
1. you are invincible
2. you can create your own worlds/universes
3. convention sucks
4. mistakes are good (as long as they don't kill you)
5. the answers are everywhere
6. reading is crucial
7. question everything
she created the kind of world she could live in where she felt inspired and could be who she wanted. she questioned every rule that she was given. now, she is trying to teach others what she now knows.
which is when i realized, i've been living someone elses dream. what kind of future was i constructing? i'd been living without inspiration. i haven't questioned anything. i've been stifling everything that has made me an individual. high school sucks. conformity sucks. convention sucks. the biggest thing i think anyone should learn is how to let your soul do what it wants (as long as it doesn't kill you) without letting anyone else make you feel inferior. who cares if you wear your pigtails on different sides of your head? i think its amazing how people create their own rules to follow and do not question why. by no means am i excluding myself from this. this is what i am coming to explain.
and now here is my resolution:
i want to know what keri smith knows. i want to be someone who does what they want and wears what they want and says what they want and questions everything they see as something beautiful and intricate and amazing. i want to see everything as magical again. i want to write stories and songs and get lost in everything like i did when i was ten. i want to live my life with inspiration. i want to feed my soul and learn and become better everyday. i want to explore. i never want to forget what makes life beautiful and worthwhile. i want to be myself even if people think i'm crazy. who decides what crazy is anyways? i want to fall in love with life again.
when i was ten, i knew these things. i knew what i liked and didnt care if no one else liked it. i've always wanted to do something different than everyone else.
it just took some spring cleaning to realize these things. in order to have the future i want, i need to live it now.
so today, i'm going to ride my bike and paint flower pots with my sister. i am going to make a jar full of wishes. i'm going to tell the people i love that i love them and i'm going to wear my hair however i want.
i want to know what keri smith knows. i want to be someone who does what they want and wears what they want and says what they want and questions everything they see as something beautiful and intricate and amazing. i want to see everything as magical again. i want to write stories and songs and get lost in everything like i did when i was ten. i want to live my life with inspiration. i want to feed my soul and learn and become better everyday. i want to explore. i never want to forget what makes life beautiful and worthwhile. i want to be myself even if people think i'm crazy. who decides what crazy is anyways? i want to fall in love with life again.
when i was ten, i knew these things. i knew what i liked and didnt care if no one else liked it. i've always wanted to do something different than everyone else.
it just took some spring cleaning to realize these things. in order to have the future i want, i need to live it now.
so today, i'm going to ride my bike and paint flower pots with my sister. i am going to make a jar full of wishes. i'm going to tell the people i love that i love them and i'm going to wear my hair however i want.
it's time that we all fall in love with life again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)