My Letter to Robin Williams

Dear Mr. Williams,

I remember being a little girl and watching some special behind the scenes footage for Aladdin. I saw you talking into a microphone and thought, “He sounds like the Genie!” and then I realized, “He is the Genie!” My young mind was still having trouble grasping the magic of voice-overs, because indeed it was like magic.

After the invention of YouTube, I would look up videos of your shows, interviews, etc. Although I confess I haven’t seen all of your movies, you were one of the few comedians who could give me a good laugh. Not the occasional groan or quiet chuckle, but the stomach hurting, almost-pee-my-pants kind of laugh. But I would have to say that one of my favorite interviews to watch was Inside the Actors’ Studio with James Lipton. You weren’t focusing on the promotion of one specific movie or show, you were just talking about life. And I liked that.

When I found out that you would be performing in Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, I was really hoping I would get a chance to see you perform live, since I hadn’t had that experience before. But I wasn’t able to. Still, you were one of the few celebrities whose hand I wanted to shake, to say thank you for your amazing contributions to the world of acting and of comedy.

Because I don’t generally follow celebrities very closely, most of what I knew of you was whatever I would see in the headlines or read on Wikipedia. I’m not going to pretend to understand your struggles, because I don’t. But I do know that you had a certain genuineness about you that allowed people to look past those struggles to see the warmth in your smile and in your heart.

I’m not trying to idolize you, but I am trying to say that you brought a lot of joy and laughter to people’s lives. You have definitely enriched my life, and for that I cannot thank you enough. I wish I could have met you, but I hope one day I can give you a big hug in heaven.

Sincerely,
Katherine

Minimalism: Step 1

According to the Minimalists, one of the first steps toward minimalism is the decision to change. This is something I’ve already been wanting to do for awhile, so in my journey, step 1 was packing everything up for my move. The nice thing about moving is that you have to pack up everything anyway, so it felt good to leave a clean room behind.

I wasn’t able to fit all my clothes into one suitcase, but I was able to organize almost everything into two. One suitcase contains my seasonal clothes and clothes I’m not currently wearing. The other contains clothes that I wear on a daily basis. I kept some items (such as jackets) on hangers and just carried them separately.

I did enjoy being able to pack everything up, because I was able to organize at the same time, separating stuff that I would need to use right away from stuff that I wouldn’t be using but still needed to hold on to for now. I was also able to throw away a lot of trash, which is a wonderful feeling. It makes me feel so much lighter to not have to carry around a bunch of trash with me.

Now that step 1 is completed, I’m able to move on to step 2, and it’s really exciting that I’m on my way to a simpler life.

Levine and the Perfect Woman

Recently I’ve been listening to Maroon 5 a lot. Why, I’m not sure. I guess I’m just going through a phase where I really like the pop-y textures of the songs, as well as the heartfelt yearnings of the lyrics.

That being said, one thing that has stood out to me was the theme of female beauty and “perfection” in Maroon 5’s songs. In the second verse of “Daylight,” for example, Adam Levine sings, “Here I am staring/at your perfection in my arms/so beautiful.” Or in “Beautiful Goodbye,” he sings “I can’t take it; you’re even perfect when you cry.” What exactly does he mean by this perfection?

At a glance, it would seem that a woman’s perfection is defined by her physical beauty. But I think a closer look may reveal a deeper meaning. In the context of each of these songs, the main character (in this case, Levine), is expressing a longing to stay with his lover even though he knows he must say goodbye. I think it is at the base of this longing that we find his affection for and attraction to his lover. This “perfection” that he attributes to her is an expression of his love.

At first, it bothered me that the use of the word “perfect” appeared in a context of describing her physically. I personally do not want my physical beauty to be the only thing that draws a man to me. But in defense of the songwriter(s), I do not think that is what the main character is saying. I think it is only natural for someone who is in a relationship to think that his lover is the prettiest, the funniest, the smartest, or whatever other characteristics that person may value.

Of course, the other, less-analytical side of me says, “Dude, just shut up and enjoy the song. You’re over-thinking it.” Perhaps I am over-thinking it. But I over-think a lot of things. That’s what helps me to understand and appreciate the world better. Thanks for reading.

How Does One Make Friends?

Recently I’ve been reading a book that talks about relationships, and one thing that stood out to me was the observation of how relationships (of any sort) are made. The person who tries to make friends for the sake of having friends will likely have trouble building those relationships. If, on the other hand, one makes friends through mutual interests, then the relationship can develop.

This is why people become friends with those they take classes with, or work with, or are in a club with. They are people uniting for a cause. The relationship between two given people develops not when they are focusing solely on each other, but rather focusing on a mutual passion or interest, something outside themselves.

This is not to say that you can’t focus at all on the other person. It can be good to just take time to talk with someone. But what do you talk about? Often conversations between friends will gravitate toward topics that interest both parties.

I am not saying that the only way to make friends is to join a club. But this was an aspect of friendship that the book I’m reading pointed out in a way I hadn’t thought about before. Perhaps one reason I’ve had trouble making friends is that I try too hard to be likable to everyone. I don’t want to have opinions so strong that I drive those of a different mindset away. But if I don’t identify with anything, then no one will want to identify with me.

However, I have also experienced a different challenge: I may become friendly with people I take a class with, but as soon as the class is over, the relationships are over. We no longer have that common purpose to bring us together, and so we go our separate ways. I suppose the marks of a deep, lasting friendship are not based on what brings people together, but rather what keeps them together.

What is it, then, that keeps people together? In my experience, what draws me to a person may be a common interest (“You like such and such? Me too!”), but what keeps me drawn to the person is a change of focus from the interest to the person behind the interest. It could be that we have a myriad of common traits, or hardly any at all. Sometimes what draws me to a person is not how we’re similar, but how we’re different.

Shared interests then grow into shared experiences, which in turn creates shared feelings, resulting in a shared connection. How deep that connection reaches may be an indicator of how long the relationship lasts. Often the more personal the experience (whether good or bad), the deeper the connection.

These are my thoughts on the development of relationships (of any kind). Perhaps with this sorting out of my thoughts I am better able to understand how to connect with people and ultimately, better understand myself.

My Journey to Minimalism

I follow a blog called The Minimalists, which has inspired me to want to live a simpler life. In general I try to be frugal, because having too much stuff overwhelms me, especially when that stuff accumulates into a disorganized mess.

I want to work even more toward living a minimalistic life – getting rid of unnecessary things, working toward living more purposefully and meaningfully. The Minimalists wrote a series of posts about their 21-day journey to minimalism, so I want to create my own series of posts documenting my journey to minimalism this summer. This will also force me to write more, which is something I’ve been wanting to do as well.

For a long time I’ve had a dream of one day being able to fit all my belongings – or at least all my clothes – in a single suitcase so that I could pack up and go anywhere at a moment’s notice if need be. I do not intend to reach that goal this summer, but I do intend to downsize. Downsize the stuff, downsize the stress. I hope that by coming with me on my journey, maybe you will be inspired to work toward a more meaningful life as well, whatever that may look like for you.

Phones and Fireworks

The temperature was perfect that night, but I had forgotten how cool it was with so many bodies pressed up against me. There really is no such thing as personal space in a crowd. How anyone was enjoying themselves and the loud music, I have no idea.

The scene I mentioned above was not of a club, but of downtown Nashville on the 4th of July. Some friends and I braved the thousands of bodies to get a good view of the fireworks show. One person in our group said, “I would love to get on that rooftop over there,” and he indicated a bar nearby with a rooftop patio, where the crowd was less dense. I readily agreed, and we snaked our way to the door, where we had to wait in line.

Somehow we managed to get in, and finally I felt like I could shift my weight comfortably without the fear of being accused of copping a feel of whoever was closest to me. It was still crowded on the roof, but much less stressful.

Eventually the orchestra played their first notes, and sparks flew into the air. Right in the middle of our view was a pole flying the American flag, which was really neat, because, America! (or as the more obnoxious people put it, U S A! U S A!)

I couldn’t help smiling in excitement at the colorful explosions that showered us with ash and drowned out almost any other sound. As I enjoyed the display, I noticed people pulling out their phones and taking pictures of both the fireworks and the flag. It saddened me a little, as I saw the phone of the man in front of me, because the pictures it took were dark and grainy, nothing like the grandeur of the real thing.

I wondered, why are people diminishing this experience by viewing it through a camera lens? Surely the technology with which they are capturing this moment doesn’t compare to being able to see it with their own eyes?

I get that people want a token of that memory, something to look back on, something to show their friends. But in my opinion, sometimes people are so caught up in capturing a memory that they forget to create a memory. So what if you can’t show a grainy picture to your friends later? You still had the experience, and can relish the memory. And sometimes memories that you can’t share with people are more special than the ones you can.

I’m not against taking pictures – I take pictures. But many times I would rather just get lost in the moment, and enjoy the here and now before it slips away.

Should I Get a Pinterest?

Recently, I somewhat reluctantly created my own Pinterest account. I was reluctant because I didn’t want to be perceived as a stereotypical girl who spends her life on the addictive website planning her dream wedding (or dream closet, or whatever). But ultimately I created it primarily to help me with meal planning. Eating well is important to me, and even though I’m still in the early stages of changing my eating habits, Pinterest has been helpful in providing me with meal ideas as well as keeping those ideas organized. I have to admit that it seems much more orderly to have a board devoted to main dishes rather than trying to bookmark all the recipes I find on the internet.

For some people, maybe Pinterest is a waste of time. For others, it is a useful tool. Ultimately I had to ask myself, “Will this add value to my life?” That is probably one of the more important questions when considering making a change. For me, I think it does add value to my life, because I am trying to use it as a tool to help me be more mindful of my diet. Granted, I still have fun with it (I created a board devoted entirely to muffin recipes I’d like to try), and I still want to be careful about how much time I spend on the internet, but I think for me this account has been a good thing. And yay for good things!

My Thoughts on Facebook Fasting

Periodically I’ll see some of my Facebook friends announce that they are going on a Facebook fast: “Leaving Facebook for x days; text if you need to reach me.” While it sounds like a good idea, I have never officially done my own Facebook fast other than when I was traveling or at summer camp. I think a break from the internet can definitely be a good thing, both for the mind and the body, but I have some mixed thoughts about it as well.

Hearing about someone going on a Facebook fast sounds pretty similar to someone announcing they’re going on a diet. It’s short term and may have some benefits, but it takes discipline, it’s easy to give up on, and it probably won’t affect you much in the long term. I’m not a big fan of diets, but I am a fan of healthy living.

Personally I don’t do internet fasts because I want to be reachable if people need to contact me, especially if they want to schedule something last minute that I wouldn’t see if I were on a fast. A one-time internet fast isn’t likely to accomplish much (for me), but I do like the idea of trying to moderate how much time I spend on the internet on a regular basis. Maybe that means taking a day each week/month and not checking Facebook. More practically for me it means not checking my email constantly throughout the day.

Personal internet moderation is something I still need to work on – I still fall into the trap of sitting in front of my computer screen when I’m bored, or even when I should be doing other things. For some people, Facebook fasts are great. For me personally, I don’t want to go on a diet; I want to improve my lifestyle.

Things I Love: Books

I love books. Not the ones you get on a Kindle. I mean the real, yellowing-page-worn-spine books. Or even the newer ones that crackle when you open them for the first time. For me, nothing beats the satisfaction of watching the thickness of the remaining pages to be read dwindle, and being able to close the flap for the last time after having finished.

Last summer I read about nine books, so this summer I’ve made a goal to read ten. I recently became more active on my Goodreads account, which I would recommend to people who like to read or want to read more. It’s a great place to organize books you’ve read and books you want to read, as well as see what other people are reading and learn about new books.

So far this spring/summer I’ve read two books: The Guardian by Robbie Cheuvront and Erik Reed, and The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Since I’ve already finished them, I won’t talk much about them here. However, I may talk about books I’m currently reading in future posts. And of course, I would welcome any suggestions for books to read in the future!

Things I Love: Quiet Time

I stepped outside onto the porch to sit and spin some yarn, and I was surprised with the silence that greeted me. After having spent months in an urban area, getting away to the middle of nowhere for a few days has been a refreshing change of pace.

All that lay before my eyes was a scene of green, with the grass and the trees reaching up to the overcast sky. Sometimes the sun peeked through, but then a gust of wind would cover it up again with clouds. It was the perfect temperature to sit and spin.

As I watched a blue jay and a woodpecker explore the nearby bird feeders, my mind wandered far away to more pressing issues on my mind. I allowed myself to reminisce about the past year, and thought about both happy and sad memories. I didn’t come up with any new conclusions, no solutions to the world’s problems, but it was peaceful. And the more peaceful one can be, I think the more enriched that person’s life is.