Menu:

 
Prompt: Beautifully different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different - you'll find they're what make you beautiful.

Okay, AWKWARD!  It's amazing how easy it is to tear ourselves down.  If they had asked me for a list of my faults, I would happily rattle it off.  But to talk about what makes you beautiful?  I get all awkward and shy.  After all, I don't want to seem like I'm full of myself or something.  And that's the problem with our culture, or perhaps our humanity.  We so quickly focus on our negatives and not our positives.  So no wonder we have to hide ourselves in booze/pills/food/television/you name it.

But now to stop avoiding the question.

Things that make me different.  I have crazy dreams and actually go after them.  When I wanted to live in Ireland, even though I didn't know how it could happen, I found a way to live there for 7 months interning at a peace and reconciliation center.  When I wanted to go to Peru, even though I only had made $4000 that year, I created a class through the university I was studying at, and spent two months there, living off financial aid.   I go out and audition.  I went after the top rated acting schools in the country, and got accepted, and moved there, even though I had never been on the east coast.  I've had mad wild crushes on guys, and actually asked them out.  I believe everything is possible and that I can have it in my life, I just need to reach for it.  It doesn't take a million dollars, or superhuman effort.  It just takes trying.  And so many people don't even try at all, which makes me sad.  They give up on themselves before they even reach their arms out.  They would be amazed to find what is possible.

But I understand, as I've fallen into that trap myself in recent years.  And now, cue music as I recite that I quit my job and am venturing out on my own.  Please read previous posts for further details on that, because I really hate being a broken record on all that.

Do you want to know what really propels me into action, though?  I get sick of listening to myself.  It's true.  That's all it is.  I go on and on and on about how I want to do something.  There was a distinct moment that I remember when I was talking to a friend about how I wanted to live in Ireland (and she wanted to live in Peru), and I just thought to myself "SHUT UP and do something".  Nobody wants to hear you go on and on about something when you aren't even willing to DO anything about it.  So I looked up stuff on the internet that day, found an internship to apply for, and less than a year later I was living in Ireland, having the best time of my life.

Of course, there are many other things that make me different, but I'm going to stick with that right now, because I feel like that is enough.  And it seems appropriate at this moment.

And what do I do that lights people up?  I make them laugh.  I tell entertaining stories, or make sarcastic remarks, or say inappropriate things that catch them off guard.  It's my favorite thing, when I can whip out a snarky comment that cracks my coworker out, or throw out a comment that people repeat for days.  At least, that is what I see lights people up.  I have a suspicion that my enthusiasm also lights people up.  I get caught up in things, and apparently my enthusiasm can be infectious.  I like that.  One of the best compliments is when after I've gone on about whatever, the person tells me that I've inspired them, and they're going to go out and do something about it.

So.  I guess that is what I have to say about THAT.



Leave a Reply.