Tag: interesting

Having Something to Say

It occurred to me recently that before you can be a writer, you must first have something to say. You have to have opinions and thoughts and ideas. You have to be good at explaining and/or describing things. You can’t be hesitant to speak your mind.

I’ve always had something to say. No doubt about it. Even when I would take those tests at school that are supposed to help you decide what career path to take, mine would always come out “writer” and nothing else. I mean, seriously, while my friends would have 5 or 6 suggested career paths, all I’d have was writer. (I strongly suspect bridgetenders are not even on the list of careers for those tests. Most people don’t even know we exist.)

My whole life I’ve been told that I have very strong opinions. But that was meant as an insult. As in, “Shut up, female, and leave the thinking to the rest of us.” People rarely accuse men of having strong opinions. And I would get that criticism from men and women alike, because a lot of women don’t realize how complicit we can be in our own oppression.

Well, I thank God for my strong opinions. Without them, this blog wouldn’t exist. And I’d be a heck of a lot less interesting.

Fortunately, I’m not the kind of person who expects everyone to share my opinions. People like that are insufferable (in my opinion). I don’t think I’m very good at pointing that out, though. It’s definitely something I need to work on. It never occurs to me that some people view opinions as coercion.

I don’t see opinions that way. I also don’t think of them as being right or wrong. Opinions are simply points of view. No two people will see things from the same angle. The world might be easier to live in if we did, but it would sure be monotonous.

If you want to be a writer, I urge you to get out there and experience life, and, yes, form opinions about those experiences. Listen and learn as much as you can. Be open to unique people, places and things. And most of all, don’t be afraid to express yourself, even if the whole world tries to shut you up.

oh-i-offended-you-with-my-opinion_-you-should-hear-the-ones-i-keep-to-myself

An attitude of gratitude is what you need to get along. Read my book! http://amzn.to/2mlPVh5

Fascinating

It always surprises me when other people aren’t equally engrossed by the things that I find interesting. I have no idea why that is. You’d think I’d have learned by now.

But how can you not enjoy a really good book or a well done PBS documentary? How can you not loose entire afternoons when engaged in some form of creativity? Is it really possible to not be intrigued when you meet a new and extremely unique individual?

What stuns me is that there are people out there who are not the least bit curious. They actually get annoyed when they have to learn something new. If they step out of their comfort zone in any way, the stress is obvious on their faces. Heaven forbid they have to eat anything other than meat and potatoes. There’s no sense of adventure, no desire to explore or travel. I don’t get it. I can’t even get through a day without finding something fascinating.

But I try to comfort myself with the fact that some people probably feel befuddled by me as well. They can’t imagine how I am not into sports. They wonder how I function without a television. It seems insane to them that I’m not caught up in the latest fashion or trends, and don’t even own make up, let alone use it.

This would be a very boring world indeed if all of us were exactly alike. Three cheers for diversity!

“Fascinating.”

An Unexpected Ego Boost

I was at home, sound asleep, when I got a phone call from my boss the other day. She was calling to let me know that StoryCorps was trying to track me down. I was intrigued. Why on earth would StoryCorps be contacting me?

For those who are unfamiliar with this amazing organization, I’ll quote directly from their website: “StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind. Since 2003, StoryCorps has collected and archived more than 50,000 interviews from more than 80,000 participants. Each conversation is recorded on a free CD to share, and is preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.”

So I called the contact number and identified myself. They wanted to talk to me about a StoryCorps interview I did back in 2009, in which I talked about what it was like to be a bridgetender. It seems that their next anthology will be “Callings”, a publication about interesting jobs that people are passionate about, and they are considering including my interview in that book, which will come out in 2016.

The woman I spoke to couldn’t guarantee that my interview would make the cut, but if it does, they’ll send me a copy of the book. Even though they had the rights to the interview already, they wanted to establish contact with me for fact checking purposes.

Finding me must have been no mean feat. Since 2009 I’ve moved at least 5 times, have long since changed my number and e-mail address, and now live 3000 miles away, on the other side of the continent. That, to me, says they’re really interested in using my interview. Time will tell.

Either way, I’m extremely excited. There’s nothing quite as delicious as having your routine disrupted by an unexpected and unbelievably gratifying event. Isn’t life grand?

The StoryCorps booth. An exciting and historic place to be.
The StoryCorps booth. An exciting and historic place to be.