10 Things I...

I know what you're thinking. At least, if you A: read the title of this blog and B: are anywhere near my age bracket I probably know what you're thinking. The answer is no, I am not writing a blog about 10 Thing I Hate About You. Nice try.

I enjoy and admire many different types of performance, but there is one in particular that I hold exceptionally close to my heart. The one that I constantly search out, not in public (at least not often enough) but in the privacy of my home, when the boy is gone and it's just me. I spend hours surfing youtube, TED, and the few private blogs I know trying to hunt down my next favorite... spoken word poem.

Also sometimes known as slam poetry, there is something I love about the combination of poetry and theatre. It somehow insinuates that the poem, like Shakespeare, is not satisfied merely being read or studied on a page. For it to be truly understood, it must be spoken, performed, given a voice to let it breath and live and be heard.
And, if I'm being truthful, for me, there is something otherworldly about it. I can never seem to write artistically, and even if I let myself try, I would never take it seriously or let anyone else see it. (Note: this blog doesn't count. This ain't art, kids.)
But, while I may not be able to understand the creation of it, if the writer has done their job, I can understand and, best of all, connect to the message.

I just watched 2 poems and a TED lecture by Sarah Kay. She started writing when she was 14 and has since created a program wherein she travels around trying to teach people how to start writing poetry. In her class, when mere mortals such as myself bring up the usual complaint of not knowing what to write about, she has them write down a list of 10 things they know to be true. To one girl named Charlotte, who continued to protest that she had nothing interesting to say, she kept giving lists until the one that produced her first poem: 10 things I SHOULD have learned by now.

I thought they were really interesting, and got me thinking. I highly doubt that this will start me on my way to spoken poetry stardom (if there is such a thing), but it's something interesting to think about, something I can learn from, and who knows? Maybe down the road it will inspire... something. And the chance for inspiration is always worth it.

So, without further ado, my 2 lists for today...

10 Things I Know to be True
1. No matter what I may or may not do, my parents will always love me.
2. If you want true love, you must be truthful (to both your loved one and yourself).
3. Changing a habit, good or bad, will always be uncomfortable.
4. For every person on earth, there is at least one book that they will enjoy reading.
5. One of the quickest pick-me-ups is to think of things you are grateful for.
6. Spring will always follow winter.
7. Humans are much too complex for anyone to ever know everything about one person.
8. You have something in common with every person you will ever meet.
9. A little makeup in the right places works wonders.
10. It never takes too much effort to be nice to strangers.

10 Things I Should Have Learned by Now
1. If something you have to do pops into your head, do it at that minute if you can.
2. Men and women communicate differently.
3. Doing nothing will never solve a problem.
4. Save money for a rainy day.
5. Just because someone was important in your past does not mean they have to be a part of your present.
6. Asking friends for help when it is truly needed is not burdening them.
7. Keeping your personal space the way you like to see it helps your frame of mind.
8. How you think you look will affect how other people see you.
9. Exercising your body will remind you of how miraculous and wonderful your body is.
10. Embrace the individual person you are. No one else can do it like you.

Sarah found in all her classes that there were 4 intersections where different lists met:
Everyone had something on their list that was almost identical to another item in the class.
Everyone had something on their list that was the exact opposite of another item in the class.
Everyone had something on their list someone else had never even heard or thought of.
Everyone had something on their list someone else had never thought of in that exact way.

Try a list yourself. See what you can learn.

Or, just do something to be inspired.