Books

Oh so many books to choose from!  Day 8 of the challenge, discuss a book I love and one that I didn't.  There are so, so many books I have loved.  If you asked me my favorite, I would tell you it's "To Kill A Mockingbird".  But everyone loves that and it does not need any discussion from me.  Nor does anything by Tolkein, "The Catcher in the Rye", the works of Dr. Seuss, or the "Outlander" series.

Today, the book I will say I love is "Illusions" by Richard Bach.  It is not a particularly deep story in the literary sense, but when I read it in college, it changed me.  It changed how I thought about myself, others, the world, life in general.  I had read "Jonathan Livingston Seagull"  several years before and I got it.  I thought I understood, but "Illusions" spoke to me in a way no other story had and even better, my friends related to it.  This book made me feel real and important and worthwhile. It told me, in a way no one or nothing else could, that I was going to be okay.  I was going to have bad things happen to me and good things happen to me, but those things were lessons on the journey. Things that happened to me aren't me.  They are just things.  That happen.  Shit happens.  And the journey goes on.  And it's amazing.

There are very few books I haven't loved, but the one that first comes to mind is "Eat, Pray, Love".  Probably one of the worst books ever, maybe because it was autobiographical.  First the use of metaphors was so excessive, it actually distracted me from the content.  Second, during the vast majority of the time I was reading this book, all I could think of was how self-centered the author was.  We all have crappy things happen to us and frankly, the author's divorce does not really rank high up there, at least not the way she described it.  Her journey of self-realization may have been enlightening for her, but did nothing for me.  Maybe it did for other people, it was a best selling book, afterall, so what do I know?

Me

The writing challenge topic for Day 6 is to name someone who fascinates you and explain why.  Naming myself may sound wildly self-centered, but really, aren't we all fascinated with ourselves?  We look in the mirror, worry how we dress, wonder what kind of impression we made, fret over whether we were misunderstood.  The truth is most of us are endlessly obsessed with ourselves and our place in the world.

Like most of us, I have an image in my head of the person I picture myself to be.  She's a snappy dresser, a good listener, a wise counsel.  She is smart, knows how to take care of herself and her family and stays in control.  She loves to read and write, play board games and lean new things.

Does this sound like you?  Substitute any adjectives you like above.

So, this is how I see myself and yet on a regular (daily?) basis, I find myself mentally eye rolling while someone is telling me a story, losing patience with my spouse or children, making poor choices, skipping that brisk walk or workout, ordering pizza (again!) instead of cooking a healthy dinner.  I put my book aside to watch tv or browse Facebook.  I rarely play board games because my family doesn't want to (I think because I usually win).  I have a Rosetta Stone set of Italian lessons I got for Christmas three years ago that I have yet to get through the first section.

Personally, I find someone who fails to do something spectacular ultimately more fascinating than a gifted athlete or a brilliant scientist or a prolific author.  Those are people who recognized or were recognized as having a particular talent, nurtured that talent and achieved results.  Nothing too fascinating there.  The fascinating people of the world are the people like me.  We know what or who we want to be and yet we struggle on a daily basis to get there.  I have no formula for achieving all your hopes and dreams because I haven't done it myself, nor have any of my friends or family.  Yet along with me, all of our possibilities remain endless and what could be more fascinating than that?

10 Interesting Things about Myself

Day 4, write 10 interesting things about myself.  On the surface, this sounds so easy, but instead it makes me think. What's interesting about me?  Should I choose things that I think are interesting about me, or that I think other people will think are interesting about me?  Frankly, I'm really not that interesting.  In any case, here are 10 things about me; you may or may not think they are interesting.


1.  I have a half brother who I've never met.

2.  In 2008, our family took a 3 week RV trip with friends and drove most of the way across the country and back.

3.  I was closer to my grandparents than either of my parents.

4.  I've played Dungeons & Dragons

5.  I was bullied in middle school.

6.  I don't mind public speaking, but I find it difficult to approach someone and start a conversation.

7.  I've never participated in a competitive athletic event.

8.  I went to Live Aid (the original one in 1985).

9.  I've never worked in retail, or been a waitress.  Actually, other than a very brief stint at Roy Rogers, and being a tour guide in college, I have only ever worked in an office setting.

10.  I'm a member of a sorority.  Joining it was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

If anyone reads this, feel free to comment with an interesting thing or two or ten about yourself!