maybe

Random thought: why do we automatically think that once people are diagnosed with “disorders” like schizophrenia, they have a “problem” that must be treated? –Ok this s a really weird topic so try to stay with me.—If God made certain people’s minds work differently and allowed them to see or hear things that aren’t attainable by “normal” means, who are we to say it’s wrong? How do we know that we aren’t wrong because we weren’t given the ability to sense other things? Maybe it stems from ancient times when the government had more rule and control over people. Maybe the leaders of that time didn’t want people to see certain things, so in order to keep from it, they labeled those certain people as “crazy” and exiled them so that the rest of society wouldn’t follow them. Maybe over time we have adopted these ideas and with the laws on equal rights, we have learned to treat and medicate these “special” people so that we don’t have to banish them and also so there is no worry of them “leaking information” that shouldn’t be disclosed.

I know that’s a lot of “maybe’s” and “what if’s,” but I thought it might come in handy for those of you who wanted some food for thought.

On that note, here’s another question to ponder: If by law we are required to pull over when there is a cop behind us with his lights on, then why do people never pull over for them in the movies? I was watching CSI the other night and realized that every time there is a high speed chase on TV, stunt drivers are needed because officers have to weave in and out of traffic to catch the criminals. I guess it just wouldn’t be good entertainment to watch them chase people down the road while all the innocent bystanders are pulled over out of courtesy.

That’s all I’ve got for today.

Wait, take that back. Go read some Anais Nin quotes, they’re good! I left you one at the bottom to start off with. Now: that’s all I’ve got for today.

Love always,

Addie

“I am an excitable person who only understands life lyrically, musically, in whom feelings are much stronger as reason. I am so thirsty for the marvelous that only the marvelous has power over me. Anything I cannot transform into something marvelous, I let go. Reality doesn’t impress me. I only believe in intoxication, in ecstasy, and when ordinary life shackles me, I escape in one way or another. No more walls.” –Anais Nin

bucket list

I really like the vodka commercial with Hugh Hefner that asks the question: “would you have a drink with yourself?” For me, when I think about what I would tell a complete stranger about myself, I draw a blank. I was the head cheerleader when our squad won the first ever back to back state championship for my high school, I have flipped a car and walked away with simply a scratched up elbow, I have been bungee jumping once at a fair, the doctor thought I had the “bird flu” when I was a sophomore in high school (he was wrong), I climbed a mountain in Wyoming and Mt. St. Helen in Washington, and last spring I stood a whole three feet from the one and only, Corona Cartel. Up until this point, my life has been pretty boring. Though I am proud of some of the things that I have done and thankful for all of the opportunities that I have been given, I’m pretty sure that anyone else would not think of my life as being anything out of the ordinary.

This puts me in a very troubled state of mind. I don’t want to be a boring person! I have always seen myself as a risk taker, an adventurer, someone who thinks outside the box and doesn’t follow the crowd– but I have absolutely nothing to show for it. I have all these big plans for what I want to do, but I have not taken any measures to accomplish any of those goals yet. I didn’t think I would ever say this, but I honestly think that a vodka commercial has changed me. I could sit and have a drink with the person that I see myself as thirty years from now, but my bucket list is long, and if I don’t get started on it soon, I’ll never finish it, leading me to believe that I will be a boring person from now on. I can hear Ms. Throop’s famous words echoing in the back of my head: “Just do it! When else are you gonna try it? When you’re thirty? Oh please.”

Ms. Throop was always a good motivationalist-(Yes, I’m pretty sure I just made that word up, but just go with it.) If you tell her your plans, you’d better believe that she’s going to be on you about it until you get them done. As she says, “you can’t wait until you’re thirty” to start crossing things off your list because by then your plans have changed and everything becomes a long lost dream. A “if only I would have…”

So I thought the best way to get started would be to materialize the bucket list that is currently building up in my head. That way I can begin to make plans and actually cross off the things that I have always dreamt of doing. Obviously it’s hard to do some things while I’m going to school, but it’s going to be even harder once I have a real job and eventually a family, which is why I plan to become a “gypsy.” In case you haven’t had the pleasure to hear about my idea to become a gypsy, here it is in a nutshell: After I graduate I want to take a year or two to simply travel the world and try new things that I have never done before. I can pick up odd jobs wherever I land to make enough money to get me to my next destination. It would give me a chance to chase my dreams before becoming a full time employee or wife. If the gypsy life interests you, please join me! First stop in the gypsy life: Ireland with Mamie. (It’s been a long time coming.)

In the mean time, I’m going to work on prioritizing so that I have enough time for all the endeavors on my list. Here’s to the future! (And having a drink with myself…as someone who I would actually want to listen to.)

Addie’s Bucket List  (I’m going to literally cross them off and write the date they were finished as they occur, so check back to see how it’s coming along!)

1. Skydiving
2. Mission trip to Africa
3. Hotdog eating contest
4. Scuba dive around the Great Barrier Reef
5. Swim with the turtles in the Galapagos Islands
6. Sit on a hill in Ireland and drink tea (with Mamie right after we graduate)
7. Amsterdam, though I don’t plan on staying long
8. Mardi Gras
9. Cowboy Downhill
10. Rome/Vatican (typical, but I want to see the paintings I studied in art last semester and all the references from the Da Vinci Code)
11. Watch the Running of the Bulls and participate in the La Tomatina in Spain
12. Surf
13. Dog Sled
14. Antartica (simply because, “who would want to go there?!”)
15. Learn to play REAL golf, not mini golf
16. Zorbing
17. Salsa Dance
18. Oktoberfest in Germany
19. Brazilian Carnival
20. Conquer Rt. 66
21. Ride a Gondola in Venice
22. Kentucky Derby (plans for 2011)
23. NFR (plans for 2010)
24. Wear a Cards shirt to a random Cubs game in Wriggley…thanks Chase for the idea
25. Send a message in a bottle
26. Visit Folsom Prison

Love always,

Addie

“If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.” -Nickleback