Wordy Wednesday: Silly Power

This week's quote is something I've lived by for the past couple years. 

There's power in looking silly and not caring that you do.

Ever since I got into theatre, my perspective has changed a lot. As I'm sure I've said in a previous post, I used to be a lot less confident than I am now. In theatre, you can't be super self conscious. It's impossible to succeed in theatre if you're constantly worried about what other people think of you. There might come a time where you have to put on a giant wig and act like you're still the fairest maiden in the land. There might come a time when you have to dress up like an animal and move the awkward way that the animal does. Theatre is unpredictable, and so is life. You can't be afraid to look silly. 

The picture above is from a photoshoot I did with Michaela a couple months ago. They were playing music and she got so many pictures of me dancing around the field and having fun (I think it's important to note here that I am not a good dancer). I knew she was taking pictures the whole time, but having fun was more important to me than how I looked on camera at that moment. Some of them actually came out looking pretty good.

If you're having fun and you don't care what you look like, chances are you'll look confident. People who don't care that they might look silly have so much confidence. People who dress up as clowns for a living must be pretty darn confident. If you worry too much about what you look like, just remember that the people around you are probably only worrying about how they look. Humans are just like that, especially in a society that tries to tell everyone that they need to look a certain way to be considered beautiful. You know what's really beautiful? Confidence. 

Wordy Wednesday: Unfair

I struggled with finding a quote this week. When I found this, I thought, it's kind of like a more intelligent version of the lemons thing. You know, "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade"? I feel like this quote is saying that the people who make lemonade out of their life-lemons are those who really succeed. 

Everyone goes through rough patches in their life that make them confused, angry, and generally upset. Life isn't fair, or reasonable, or in any way easy. We all face situations where we wonder how the heck we ended up there, and search for a way out. We sometimes want to give up something we love just to make things easier on ourselves, but the truth is, you're just going to run into another sticky situation in the long run. Running from your problems will only give you more problems. 

One way to look at it is to remember that it will pass. You will push your way through the dark tunnel and arrive where there's sunshine and warmth and happiness! But then you'll see another tunnel that you're going to HAVE to go through, but on the other side of that tunnel is even more sunshine. Making it through those tunnels is important, but how will you get through them? Will you tiptoe timidly, carefully, slowly, worried that you'll make a wrong step? Or will you fearlessly skip, dance, maybe even play hopscotch to get to the other end? Dark tunnels are scary and confusing, but hopscotch is fun. It's those that hopscotch through an unfair situation that enjoy life the most. 

Another thing to remember is that not everything that looks like a tunnel really is a tunnel. It might actually turn out to be a beautiful cave lit by fireflies to guide you along as you pass pretty rock formations and stalagmites and stalactites (I really like rocks and caves). And once you get through the cave you think, "That wasn't so bad, can I go through another one of those?" 

So don't step into your tunnels with fear, start out skipping, dancing, or playing hopscotch, and whether it turns out to be a dark tunnel or a firefly-lit cave, you'll emerge triumphantly. 

Basically, approach the unfairness in life with hope and positivity and turn your life-lemons into a sweet lemonade. 

Wordy Wednesday: What They Don't Understand

Yes, here I am again, talking about school. Specifically, math. I've always hated math. I dreaded going to math class and doing math homework. Even the word "math" made me uncomfortable. Okay, the word still makes me uncomfortable. But as of yesterday, I don't think I hate it so much anymore. And this week's quote explains why.

"People fear what they don't understand and hate what they can't conquer." 

I was always scared to attempt math because I didn't understand it. I hated it because I always got the wrong answer and I struggled to get it right. I couldn't conquer it. But this time around, I understand it. The professor thoroughly explains everything and I know exactly how she gets from point A to point B. She goes through the example problems in detail and doesn't skip over simple steps because people like me don't always understand why that 3 has suddenly turned into a 1. But now I do understand it! And the moment it clicked in class, my jaw literally dropped and I flopped back into my chair and stared off into space and thought, holy crap, I get it! And it's not just because it's algebra and I've done it before. It's because I've done it before and I'm JUST NOW understanding it after only one lesson. 

I've found this quote to be extremely true, not only regarding my struggles with math, but with plenty of other fears and dislikes I've had. I hate card games because I don't understand them, therefore I can not conquer them. 

Of course, there are a lot of logical fears that stem from bad experiences with certain things. Someone who saw their baby sister fall down a flight of stairs might be scared of stairs for a while (true story). Someone who was bitten by a dog might be scared of dogs. You get the point. So obviously there are cases where people are afraid of things because they understand them TOO well or have been put in a scary situation with them. 

However, historically and politically this quote makes a lot of sense. These concepts also show up a lot in literature and film. 

My main point here is that you should reevaluate the things you hate and fear. Maybe you'll see things from a different light. 

SIDE NOTE: I just want to thank everyone that reads and enjoys my blog. I sincerely appreciate it and it makes me so happy to be told that someone loves reading my random ramblings. Three people in the past week have complimented my blog to me, and it really insipres me to keep it going. When you read my blog posts, I would really appreciate it if you would somehow let me know that you've seen it. Simply clicking the little "like" or "favorite" button wherever you see it posted, or comment on the blog post if you can, just so I can thank you at some point for keeping me inspired to keep writing for you guys. It's not about how many likes, shares, favorites, retweets, repins, etc. that these posts get, it's just about knowing who to thank the most. 

Wordy Wednesday: Think You Can

Hello again! I'm writing this from the very quiet, but extremely cold, reading room in my campus library. I seriously need a pair of gloves.

This week's Wordy Wednesday quote is a quote I've known basically all my life. My mom had it hung up on the refrigerator to motivate us. I feel like it might have had something to do with my hatred of math... 

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right." -Henry Ford.

This is the essence of a positive mindset. People who believe in themselves are more likely to succeed, while people who doubt themselves are less likely. I tend to get very negative when I don't do well on new things, but my mindset has changed a lot so far this school year. I know it's only the third day of school, but I'm already feeling like the Little Engine That Could. "I think I can! I think I can!" 

I've talked to a few people who seem more apprehensive about their first semester of college, saying they don't know how they'll remember all their assignments or get them all done. Well, getting a planner will help with remembering, and time management is a beautiful thing (that I still need to work on as well). There are simple remedies to all your worries that you will find if you just think a little more positively. If you think that you can, then you will. However, worrying and thinking that you can't will do nothing good for you. 

Worrying is like sitting in a rocking chair. You're moving, but you're not going anywhere. Your thoughts are running at 100 miles per hour, but you're sitting still, doing nothing productive and not getting nearly as much excercize as that over active brain of yours is. So get out of that rocking chair and step on a treadmill and take a Positive Walk. Instead of sitting there worrying about your first big test in a class, STUDY. Instead of worrying about writing that paper because you hate writing, suck it up and start brainstorming. Your best shot will be better than nothing, and nothing is exactly what's going to happen if you're sitting there thinking you can't. 

Think you can. Even if you know math isn't your best subject, say to yourself "I think I can" and give it your best shot. Even if your best shot doesn't meet your standards, don't give up. Keep trying and staying positive thinking you can. Don't be afraid to ask for help, even if doing so makes you uncomfortable and being tutored makes you cry for some unknown reason (yes, that's me). Go into the tutoring session with a craving for new knowledge, not just for a better grade. 

Okay, I hope this post has been a lot more motivational and inspiring than the last (very unsuccessful) Wordy Wednesday! Tomorrow I'll post about my first week of college. Be prepared for a strange, unconventional first-day story.

Wordy Wednesday: "Normal"

The other night I was laying in bed blogging in my brain. My awesome friend Mollie (artsylamentations.blogspot.com) made a "Music Monday" post this week, and it inspired me to do a weekly thing as well. Here is the first installment of Wordy Wednesdays! Wednesday is always my busiest day of the week, and it will be even busier when I start college since it's the only day I have 3 classes instead of 2, plus dinner with my friends. But there's always time for writing, right?

Quote of the week:

"Normal" is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly.

I found this quote on Pinterest (of course) and decided to illustrate it a little with my fancy new markers. It was said by Morticia Addams in the Addams Family, which I've never seen, but I would certainly like to at some point. 

I love this quote, and any quote about being "normal" or "weird" because my whole life I've sort of embraced my weirdness. My best friend and I always say "Weird is short for awesome," and it's really true. What could be more awesome than being so confident that you're not afraid to be labelled as "weird"? When you don't care what random people think of you, life is so much easier and better. Besides, what even is "normal"? 

The quote says it is an illusion, which basically means normal doesn't exist. Everyone is so unique and different that we all have our own definition of normal. Well, technically the definition is always the same.

Normal: conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected.

There are things that are just universally normal. Like having skin and wearing clothes. But when something "weird" or "unusual" happens to you every day, you grow accustomed to it and it becomes normal for you.
For example, my dad has two motorcycles. One day I brought a friend to my house and we went in through the garage where one of the bikes was parked. My friend was pretty impressed, and it dawned on me that not everyone has a couple of motorcycles sitting in their garage. I walk past them every day. I used to have to walk around them to get to the refrigerator. To me, those motorcycles are normal, even though to most other people they're not.
During my time in high school, I was not "popular," even though my mom likes to believe I was. There's that specific category of "popular" people, you know, the girls with really long hair that either wear dresses and heels or leggings and chacos depending on the day, and have huge friend groups and go to those mythical high school parties (which I'm sure exist, but I've never seen one in real life). And there's absolutely nothing wrong with being one of those girls, I just never was one. My friends are all geeks, and I love them. Although I wasn't surrounded by "popular" people, I did manage to befriend a few of them. When you become friends with people who seem so cookie-cutter perfect and "normal," you realize that they're really not. They have that "weird" side to them, they just hide it really well in public. So even though they seem like they fit into this "normal" standard and all, they still have their own little quirks and oddities. Everyone does.
No one is perfect, no one is normal, and everyone is freaking weird and we all should learn to embrace our weirdness and just be ourselves! Life is so much easier when you're not focused on trying to be normal or to look a certain way or to say the right things or fit in with the right group of people. And if you still really want to be "normal," think about this:
Everyone is weird. That means being weird is usual, typical, and (should be) expected. Therefore, weird is normal. And awesome. And everyone wants to be awesome. So don't be afraid of what people might think or say, chances are they're too busy worrying about themselves anyway. Be your own weird self.
Take a drama class, everyone there is weird in the best way possible.