Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.
George Orwell

Some raw words from my little brother:

We wake up to the world each day
not knowing what is going to come before us,
what He has planned for us.
We have to take it-
bad or good.
It’s planned to do something right
We make mistakes to… teach or to learn.
The next thing is a surprise just as the next.
We live throught it,
we fight
and get through it.
It’s a gift.
-Tucker, age 15

me & brother

I could be wrong, but I don’t think he spent much time on this poem. I’m pretty sure these words just flowed from his brain onto the blank notebook page because it is wrote in a stream of consciousness. As he takes us through his thought process we learn his raw view of life.

Stream of Consciousness is my favorite method of writing. It is so private, so secretive. It is like the writer grants us intimate access to their thoughts and just for a moment we change our perspective and we become inspired. These simple, yet profound thoughts of my little baby brother did just that. Thanks for reminding of what life is about, brother. Today IS a gift from God and you are right we should be thankful for the good and bad days! Life is unexpected and everything happens for a reason. So if you mess up, learn from it and move on. God has a plan, keep your hope.

Thanks Tuck for opening my eyes. I love you and  am so very proud of you.

#Poetry #Brother #life #Inspir #God

Don’t be afraid to show the world your weird side. I think the world needs more weirdness anyway. It keeps things interesting. If you feel like skipping to class instead of walking to class, do it! If you feel like speaking in a British accent randomly, do it! If you fee like dying your hair purple, do it! If you feel like taking your pet rock with you everywhere, do it! Ok…you get the point? Whatever it is you want to do, just do it. Be your weird self.

Thanks for being bravely weird, sis.

My sister has really cut back on her weirdness. She use to do the strangest things and everyone loved her for it! I didn’t get in then, but I do now. She did what everyone was afraid of doing- she was being her true self and because of that, she radiated happiness. She was a people magnet with her anything but normal ways. She wore clothes that did not match, took her school pictures with her stuffed bunny & roller-skated downtown in a one piece bathing suit. Although she has definitely reduced her strange characteristics, she still speaks gibberish quite frequently and eats massive amounts of ketchup on anything and everything. I would love to see you skating in that one piece again, sis. 😉 

My sister is the reason why I’ve come to love my weird side. And now I actually prefer being weird over being normal. To me normal = boring. Being like everyone else and doing the same things every day is so Blahhh. Keep life fun, be weird. Don’t worry about what people will think or say. People are going to criticize no matter what. Who cares!? Not me.

Ways to be weird today!

1. Break your routine. Go somewhere different. Go outside when you usually go inside. Eat a different kind of food.
2. Associate with people who are different than you. Find someone who is not in your “circle of friends” this week and spend some time getting to know him/her. Ask him about his childhood. Ask her about her favorite things to do. Listen.
3. Find something that inspires you. Search Youtube and learn something new.
4. Do something creative. Write a bad poem about sea monkeys. Buy a coloring book. Start a food Blog. Take 15 minutes to create something out of the ordinary. Take a photograph.
5. Turn off the technology. Whoa, this may be a toughie for some of you. Take an hour, a day or a week and turn it ALL off. All of it. TV. Radio. (did I just say radio – who listens to that any more?) Cell phone. Computers. Twitter. All of it. Go somewhere to be alone without it. Or just sit in your house Clear your mind and think. Use a mindmap or your journal or whatever to just think about your life, something creative, anything. Just take a mental vacation. Tackle something you’ve been wanting to spend time thinking about. Just be.

#beingweird #normalisboring #sister

Let me just start out saying my roommate, Hope “Hoprah” Watts, is a blessing.

We get along famously, and besides my constant bewilderment for her knack for knowing when I need my space and when I need some quality hang out time, she is pretty cool. She basically decorated our WHOLE apartment (which I do NOT have an eye for, I’ve gathered), and she constantly encourages me with my artwork (which is experiencing quite a nasty dry spell lately).

But there is something you need to know about Hope. She loves two things:

1) my homemade peanut butter

2) The Oprah Show

She doesn’t even like Oprah Winfrey, she says defensively. Isn’t it funny how the things we like commonly follow this logic? “What logic?” you ask. Simple. The Guilty Pleasure Logic. The “Oh-I-Don’t-Even-Really-Like-This” Logic. But you do. There lies the guilt. Self-denial commences. It’s this push-pull internal struggle that is delightful, yet dangerous. I never thought the words delightful, dangerous, and Oprah would be in the same paragraph..moreover, one that I wrote.

The peanut butter fetish has been a big deal the past couple of weeks.

Personally, I think Hope needs an intervention. I have made roughly 8 lbs of this peanut butter since December. I haven’t eaten too much of it. Maybe a half pound, collectively.  Hope cannot get enough. I’m worried. That’s a lot of peanut butter I know I didn’t eat. In her defense, this isn’t just any peanut butter. Ohhhh no. This peanut butter is unique because it contains pretzels and white chocolate. Yum? Yum.

But revisiting the logic of guilty pleasures: What is it about something forbidden that makes it so enticing? It’s not “cool” to like Oprah, and I agree. I can’t stand Oprah.

Search high and low

Find Happiness in Nothing

I saw a painting at Bonnaroo that said “Find happiness in nothing.” It really made me stop and think– How do you find happiness in nothing? What does that even mean? Well it’s funny, ever since that day if I’m having a blah moment the bonnaroo  painting pops in my head. I smile because even though it’s just an average day, there is no reason I should not be happy! Don’t waste time being gloomy. That’s no way to live life.

Find Beauty in Everything

I find everything so darn interesting. I’ll be walking down the street and point out a piece of trash because it is in the shape of a tree, then I will proceed in photographing it. Sometimes it is annoying to find the world so intriguing, but most of the time it is just fun. I really think you can find beauty in everything with the right mindset.

See Things Differently

Think differently today! If you can learn to change your perspective, you can find good and beauty in everyone. For bitter old woman are full of passion and crying children have beautiful eyes. Once you start to think like this you will radiate with happiness. Your glow will inspire people.

Give it a try, take the time to stop and look at things around you.

“It isn’t our position but our disposition which makes us happy.” -Unknown

#Perspective #disposition #beauty #findhappiness #discover #bonnaroo