Are you doing that end of year, New Year reminiscing thing? I am, but this time I’m going way back. I’m thinking about defining moments that happened when I was seven and eight and twelve. It was a whole bathing suit thing. I’ll tell you about it later. Sometimes you have to look back to move forward, to expand your horizons.
What do pink tutus and purple galoshes have in common or argyle socks and camouflage pants for that matter? For you GQers that second one is totally a look trust me. A child wouldn’t hesitate to wear those items together. Adults not so much. It’s about freedom of expression, expanding your ideas of what it means to be dressed appropriately or in fashion. It’s about adding to our repertoire of ideas of who we are and what we want to be.
Remember that apartment that you lived in that was a total dump or that roommate you had who probably would have made it to someone’s psychological watch list. It was an interesting time. It even makes for a great story at a party but you don’t want to repeat the experience, just the story. Things change. Life’s circumstances change and yet we tend to do the same things day in and day out. Some people grow older but they might not ever grow.
Back then life was an adventure. There was always something to look forward to, a new home, a new car, a better job. We weren’t worried about settling into a comfortable life because there were too many things that we wanted to do, things that needed changing.
I used to get in trouble for coloring outside the lines and for coloring at perpendicular angles on the same object. I would start coloring up and down and then I would get tired of coloring in that direction so I would turn the picture to the side and color in a different direction on the same object. Ms. Johnson, yes I still remember her name, didn’t appreciate my artistic sensibilities. My pictures were still awesome, at least to me anyway. I respected my temperament. I allowed my third grade self to be fully me. I didn’t know there was any other way. Allow your adult self to be fully you. Remember what it’s like to not know any other way. Explore your inner landscape.
Do you want to try something new? Something different? Something more, or maybe even something less? Could be an opportunity for black velvet pants and cowboy boots, just sayin.’ Now is not the time to be afraid of being something nobody else has seen.
As adults we get conditioned to blend in and not stand out. Everybody has heard the phrase, “don’t upset the apple cart.” We get conditioned to settle into sameness. Feel free to paint the bathroom walls red. Color outside the lines in whatever direction you choose
To quote George Lucas, you know that guy who made that movie. I can’t quite think of the name of it right now.
“Don’t listen to your peers. Don’t listen to your parents. Only listen to yourself. That’s where you’ll find your truth.”
_______________________________________
WhiteHausRules 