The Hyperbole of Anacoluthic Mind (I AM 21!)

It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to sit down and write a blog.  My major’s assignments have precedence over my caffeinated, angst-stained web posts. Nonetheless, here’s what everybody (and by “everybody,” I mean my mom and unorganized brain) has been waiting for!

What I have learned this past year—of course, within accumulation of years before, too.

So, with the lack of creativity, a generous amount of anacolutha, and within parameters of a fitting number, here are 21 things (in bullet form because we all love reading vertically more than horizontally). Let’s begin!

1. Believing in yourself isn’t the key to success.  Putting your faith in the most flawed person you know (yourself) is a silly and dangerous game. In the immortal words of Spears, “Oops! I did it again” and leads to a disappointing reality. Success requires hard work, but it also requires a malleable heart and mind. Your faith should not be in your abilities (lack thereof) but in the plan and prize set before you.
2. Don’t argue to win. Argue to mend, fix, or grow.
3. I love small towns.  I had this realization when Tulsa overwhelmed me.  A year ago, before traveling during the summer, I would have been embarrassed to admit this. However, I’m finding my passions on an elementary level are easily accessible in a small town (i.e. nature, welcoming physical contact, borrowing pets, etc.). Fragment—day dreaming of a tractor-peppered highway, one TJ Maxx, and local coffee shops with okay lattes, but familiar faces and intentional conversations.
4. Categories should be used as a tool to understand not a law to dictate.
5. Saving is overrated. Money is fleeting.  Now before we go all Forbes statistics, yes! Being frugal is admirable and does help.  However, the “expensive” Target coffee isn’t going to break bank, and homemade conversations over a nice cup will grow you more than that Folgers’ $1.50. So, enjoy the pleasures. We were created with senses for a reason.
6. Breakfast food is the best food.
   
7. Photos. They are to enhance and immortalize moments. Don’t ruin these precious moments by seeing the world through a cracked phone screen. But don’t worry; I’m not Ron Swanson. Here lies the magic of a photograph: you do not need to tell somebody you’re taking the picture, and you do not have to share it “on the line.” Take the picture and take many. Take the ones where your friends and family are unaware you’re snapping their face with Dorito crumbs on their upper lip or videoing that moment of sticking Q-tips in their ears while sleeping.  Most importantly, look back and admire all of them.
8. Combos are a good snack.
   
9. Looking for affirmation is an exhausting and fleeting journey. True affirmation is discovered once your heart is lost in your Creator.  The potter knows the clay. And in this order, one finds a confidence that leads to a life lacking in pressure of justification but promoting a lens of beauty and a mentality of encouragement. 
10. I'm working on humbling by verbally recognizing and understanding my limitations and biases on subjects before I speak.  Better conversations are produced and time is spent well.
11. It’s okay to be blessed. Ah, I see it so many times when something good happens to a person (guilty is charged for me, too) there seems to be this expectation to refute the gift and degrade the value based on circumstances or unlikelihood. That’s so great! Me: Yes, but it would have been better if it happened like this… or  Hey! What a blessing! Me: It is, but it may not happen the way it should… or (the worst) Wow! That’s incredible! Me: Yeah, it’s about time, though. I have been doing ___ for so long. Ugh. Embarrassing to say the least. Entitlement is the most unattractive quality... aside from lumpy bra fat in the back of a tight shirt or a zit next to my nose ring. A blessing is a blessing and should be treated as such, no matter how hard you work.
12. We corrupt that which is good by negligence and/or ignorance. Think—sugar, humor, fitness sex, fear.  A misplacement and misunderstanding can be detrimental, but in very specific proportions and circumstances they are beautiful.
13. I’m not good at acronyms—at all.
14. Being offended isn’t a bad thing. It is an energy that needs to be spent carefully—revealing two things: what you care most about and what you need to let go. Choose wisely.
15. Wrestling and struggling through something is the mature choice, not the weak choice.
16. Take the time and learn the difference between awareness and sensitivity. To be aware is to know and to be sensitive is to act on that awareness. For a long time, I would be aware of how somebody might take something. I would justify how I meant it, instead of just not saying it or rewording it. Be sure to investigate your motives regularly, and make sure your actions match the corrected motives. That’s your fault you felt fat, I meant you look like a cute Paul Giamatti.
    
    
    
    
    
    

    

    I mean, he is versatile. 

17. Being comfortable is the death of all growth. To grow is different than to change your character. There will be times we need to be pushed out of our comfort zone.  These moments should be welcomed not labeled "unfair."
18. Suffering is closer to peace than pain and perspective is the most valuable thing a friend can offer.
19. I’m fickle and prone to sin. But trying really hard to not sin does not break habitual and cyclical sins; they are broken only by a greater desire for He who is not sinful. I am human. My desires are sinful and harmful; that will not change. Acceptance of His forgiveness and loving my Savior more than that sin replaces the desires—instead of masking it.
20. Being vulnerable and honest about your struggles is only helpful when there is accountability. Otherwise, you’re just telling people how crappy you are. At best you get pity, and worst they don’t care.
21. Blush pink is a good color on me. And confidence is an ingredient to humility, not an opposing virtue. To be humble is to have a better understanding of your strengths and weakness. Egoistical can look both self-glorifying and self-deprecating.

The beauty of this post will be revealed when 22 year-old me disagrees most of this list, but let’s be honest… this was for me anyway. Leslie Knope says it best, “I am big enough to admit I am often inspired by myself.”

Selfie at 21. Ah, the glorious smirk. 

Oh, one more thing! I like coffee more than alcohol.