Day Five

Your definition of love

Considering another person before myself – how will my words or actions make them feel?  Taking into account what they need to be happy – what can I do to make sure they know they are loved and valued?  Prioritizing their health and happiness, not necessarily before my own but rather in conjunction with my own needs – is there anything within my capabilities that will help this person, or take care of them if they’re in need?

I feel like I’ve learned a lot about love over the past ten years in particular.  During this time I’ve had several relationships, friendships and intimate ones, dissolve for numerous reasons.  Some were petty, some were self-inflicted, some it was just what was meant to be.  Each ending, though painful, has helped round out my understanding of what it means to love another person. And that the ONLY thing I have any kind of control over is how I treat others and how I let them know how I feel about them.

“Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.  Be kind.  Always.”

Do you collect anything?

I’ve had various collections over my life.  I used to collect the popular “Got milk?” ads you’d find in magazines – I’d tear them out and I kept them in a binder filled with those plastic sheet protectors.  I even entered the collection in a county fair at one point and won a ribbon for it, haha.  I’m sure it's still around somewhere, as I’m a sentimental pack rat that can’t throw anything out, but I haven’t seen it in years.

There was also a time where I collected anything that had the Playboy logo on it.  I had a neon bar sign, a folding chair, various pieces of clothing, shot glasses, jewelry, you name it – if it had that damn bunny on it, I had to have it.  On my eighteenth birthday this included getting a pink one tattooed on my stomach – ten years later I can only roll my eyes at myself, but I don’t exactly regret getting it; it’s on a place that’s easy to cover, people rarely see it, and if anything it’s my own little reminder of being young and dumb.

These days I collect bottle caps, for craft projects I have yet to embark on.  I collect pennies, because they remind me of my maternal grandmother and bring me comfort.  Purses, shoes, and t-shirts that reflect something I like or find interesting.  Anything that has to do with Michigan, stickers, jewelry, or art prints.

Five places you want to visit

1.       Amsterdam – if I could pick anywhere to go right now, it’d be Amsterdam.  I want to visit the Vincent Van Gogh museum; Van Gogh is an artist that is very near and dear to me – I have his signature tattooed on the back of my neck.  There are other things that draw me to this place, the cannabis cafes being another obvious one, but the biggest reason is for Van Gogh. 

2.       Italy – I’m lucky enough to have been to Italy once before.  When I was fifteen I went on a nine day tour with my high school orchestra.  We visited Siena, Rome, Florence, and Venice; we played a few concerts, did our touristy-Americans thing, and ate ALL THE FOOD.  It was a fun trip for a kid that hadn’t spent much time outside of Michigan beforehand.  But, it came with certain downsides, being a chaperoned school trip and all.  I’d love to go back again as an adult, especially with my guy (who is Italian on his mother’s side).

3.       Cancun, Mexico – pretty generic and stereotypical, I know, but I have it on the list because it’s a touristy beach location that I would love to go to someday.  The thought of those beautiful beaches, the crashing waves, and an all-inclusive resort sounds like heaven to me.  That kind of scenery is what I’m daydreaming about while hunched over my desk at work.

4.       Seattle – to include some stateside locations, I would love to see Seattle someday.  I’m a city girl at my heart so any big metropolis will make me feel happy and at home, but Seattle has intrigue for some specific reasons.  One, I’m a huge Grey’s Anatomy fan, and even though Seattle isn’t a major player in the series in the way NYC was in Sex and the City, I’d still love to see it for myself.  Two, a friend of a friend moved to Seattle a couple years ago and I’ve always loved the updates she posts on social media; she clearly loves living there and seeing the area through her posts has totally increased my desire to visit one day.

5.       California – I’ve never seen the Pacific ocean, so that’s reason enough.  I have a few family members that are Bay area residents, I would LOVE to be able to visit them on their stomping grounds.  Also, my boyfriend and I are fairly big fans of the current stand-up comedy and podcast scene, most of which is based in the LA area.  I’ve mentioned to him before that a vacation to Cali that just consisted of us hitting up various comedy clubs and live podcasts recordings sounds like the best thing ever.  Hopefully one day soon!

S.