Apricots

I love apricots, and this summer I am lucky enough to live in a house that has an apricot tree. The unfortunate bit is that the tree is next to the sidewalk, and people in my city have no qualms about picking the fruit from the tree, even if I or one of my roommates are sitting outside in plain view.

Rather than actually say anything to these rude pedestrians who refuse to ask for permission, I simply try to pick all the good fruit before anybody else can. Which led to my climbing the tree the other morning and standing on a branch that may not have been completely stable. I have been climbing trees since I was a kid, so I was not terribly concerned with where I was standing, but I had the feeling it was not the most stable of branches.

It wasn't.

As I was reaching for an apricot, I heard the branch crack underneath me. Again, being a life-long tree climber, I was of course holding onto a stable branch with my free hand, so as the branch collapsed, I was left swinging in the tree with nothing underneath. At this point, I swung up to a higher branch and managed to salvage my bag of apricots. The only injury was a small cut in my hand from the branch I was holding onto. But the tree branch is currently lying on the ground with no hopes of rejoining its fellow branches.

Moral of this story, if you ever want to feel big, have a tree branch break underneath you. And if you want to feel like Tarzan, make sure you are hanging onto a stronger branch when that happens so at the end of the day you can say, "I swung through a tree today."

I'm Willy Wonka

I was walking on campus the other day, and noticed that when my hair is straight, my shadow looks like Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka. This might inspire me to wear it curly more often.

Defying Gravity

I have a hard time expressing myself through written language, and an even harder time expressing myself through oral language. Music is my preferred method of expression. No matter what mood I am in, no matter what emotion I want to convey, I can usually find a song that expresses my feelings much better than I could do on my own. I don't know if this is a good thing or possibly unhealthy, but it’s the way I am, and I enjoy it.

Well, when I think about my dating life, unfortunately the best songs to express my "situation" are usually the depressing songs. "On My Own" from Les Miserables, "I Know the Truth" from Aida, or "I'm Not that Girl" from Wicked. Yes, that is my dating life. Being alone and being the one whose heart is broken from unrequited love. Granted, I've had to break a few hearts myself, which is never fun, but the long standing trend is never finding anyone who cares for me in the same way that I care for them.

However, the other day I was listening to the song "Defying Gravity," also from Wicked. I absolutely love the lyrics:

Something has changed within me,
Something is not the same
I'm through with playing by the rules
Of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes: and leap!

It's time to try
Defying gravity
I think I'll try
Defying gravity
And you can't pull me down!

I'm through accepting limits
''cause someone says they're so
Some things I cannot change
But till I try, I'll never know!
Too long I've been afraid of
Losing love I guess I've lost
Well, if that's love
It comes at much too high a cost!
I'd sooner buy
Defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye
I'm defying gravity
And you can't pull me down

So if you care to find me,
Look to the western sky!
As someone told me lately:
"Ev'ryone deserves the chance to fly!"
And if I'm flying solo
At least I'm flying free
To those who'd ground me
Take a message back from me
Tell them how I am
Defying gravity
I'm flying high
Defying gravity
And soon I'll match them in renown
And nobody in all of Oz
No Wizard that there is or was
Is ever gonna bring me down!

I love the part, "And if I'm flying solo, at least I'm flying free." Yes, I might have a sparse dating life, and of the dates I've been on, most fall into the "bad date" category. But, at least I'm not tied down in a bad relationship. While I don't want to be forever single, I definitely think that being single and happy is a much better situation than being married to a man who doesn't love me for who I am. So, I will continue to fly solo, and that is okay.