Putting Away Childish Things

I have been staying out of grown folks' business for 21 years (that means I'm eleventeen years old, by the way), but I am slowly realizing that in the next few months I am going to be expected to be an adult. (!!!) Needless to say, it's scary to think about living up to those expectations. I mean, think about it. Being an "adult" is serious! I don't even know what all it entails beyond paying bills, which I already do now. But I have a small idea:

What Being an Adult Means to Me

-- having to actually pay attention to news and views, without being able to call and have my Mama give me the gist of world events.

-- not being able to use my age as an excuse for ordering from the kid's menu at restaurants (even though I like fish sticks better than salmon, but I'm just gonna have to suck that up).

-- having to read a lot of books of my own volition (because I'm going to be expected to be a well-rounded individual, of course).

-- having to actually know what a mortgage is, and knowing how the process of getting one works.

-- being responsible for smushing the spiders and other miscellaneous creeps that I come across, without being able to run away and get someone else to do the dirty work.

-- not getting to wear jeans 6 days out of the week (a very, very scary thing for me, lol).

Those listed above are the duties I am fearing most. Trivial they are not, I assure you. But by and by I'm becoming reconciled to these things becoming a part of my life. Maturing is gonna be awesome! Right. Whatever.

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You get a verse and a song today! Lucky you!

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a [wo]man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then we shall see face to face. ~ 1 Cor. 13: 11-12

And now a snippet from Janet Jackson, from the album Control (1986). Oddly enough, the name of the song is Control:

When I was 17, I did what people told me -

Did what my father said, and let my mother mold me.

But that was long ago, I'm in

Control.

Never gonna stop, to get what I want...

Now I'm all grown up.

Got my own mind,

I wanna make my own decisions

when it has to do with my life, my life

I wanna be the one in control.

That's right!

Put a little sunbeam in your life.

(And I'm not talking about bread.)

Here in the southern Midwest -- yeah, that is a region -- we have lately been blessed with some gorgeous 50 degree weather and sunshine uninhibited by clouds. And I don't say all this to gloat (although the thought did cross my mind). Due to this wonderful weather, lately I've been spending more time out of doors, enjoying the air and sky, etc. And I realized that in my life as a student I am too apt to spend most of my time slaving over a stack of books or a computer. "This is a waste of the earth's beauty!" I said to myself. Well, not so eloquently or elegantly as that, but I did think something along those lines.

So, whoever you are, wherever you are, I urge you to take a few more minutes out of your day to appreciate the beauty of the earth. If you've got fresh air where you live, breathe it in. Or if you've got a beautiful landscape around, reflect on it a few minutes. If you've got neither of the above, don't despair. Joy can be found in the loneliest flower or even in the people passing you by as you gaze. Everywhere on earth has some semblance of the sublime. We're charged with finding it, and not taking it for granted when we do.

Beautiful Mono Lake, Calif.

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Oh Lord, my God

when I in awesome wonder

consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my savior God to Thee,

"How great Thou art!"

Valentine's Day? Oh, really?!?

Lol.

What does it say about my life that I took no notice of yesterday being Valentine's Day until the day was almost over? Well, if we want to put me in the most flattering light (of course we do! yeah.), then it means that I am a strong individual who will not be controlled by the Man telling me when I have to express love to my loved ones! and I will not be tricked into thinking that if I don't give out 20 lbs of chocolate and roses and chocolate roses, etc. that I am unworthy of love. Forget Valentine's Day! Yesterday I started a revolution (and it was not televised)!!! Right.

But if I wanna be real about it (nah. . .probably not), then I'll have to tell everyone that I didn't remember V-Day because I am sometimes just hopelessly oblivious to what's going on around me. I'm sure yesterday I saw commercials for flower shops and Hallmark teddy bears (only $20 when you make a $30 purchase, what a deal!), but none of it registered. Well. So for everyone that I didn't call, or send a card to, or buy chocolate for -- you know who you are, right? -- here is an online token of my affection.

And see, what is so superb about this is, it doesn't even have to be Valentine's Day for you to come here and get some love. When you eat up those tasty chocolates and have to bury the flowers, this will still be here! Enjoy. It's from the heart!

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My good friend and fellow blogger Rashika has the perfect verse for today (or yesterday, lol), so here instead is a song! Or rather, the lyrics. Audio blogging costs money, and who has that? Anyway, enough rambling. The following is from my favorite music man, Mr. Stevie Wonder, from the album Songs in the Key of Life (1976):

AS

As around the sun the earth knows she's revolving,

And the rosebuds know to bloom in early May

Just as hate knows love's the cure,

You can rest your mind assured

That I'll be loving you always.

As now can't reveal the mistery of tomorrow,

But in passing we'll grow older every day,

Just as all is born is new

Do you know what I say is true,

That I'll be loving you always.

Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky.

Until the ocean covers every mountain high.

Until the dolphin flies and parrots live at sea.

Until we dream of life and life becomes a dream.

Did you know that true love asks for nothing?

Her acceptance is the way we pay.

Did you know that life has given love a guarantee

To last through forever and another day.

Just as time knew to move on since the beginning,

And the seasons know exactly when to change,

Just as kindness knows no shame,

Know through all your joy and pain

That I'll be loving you always.

Who the heck am I, you say?

Sorry. Your question will go unanswered.

Here I am! because people keep asking me what I'm up to and I figured if I made one of these things people would just read it and stop asking. . . thus eliminating from my life yet another mode of interpersonal communication. But I digress.

Since I spent my summer "studying" in California, I get to have this term off from Carleton College (yay!), and right now I'm spending time with my dad and brother in Kansas City. All is well, and as it turns out, I have an abundance of time to read watch television. Oh, how I have missed it so! Was kind of disturbed to realize though, that lately all I watch is reality tv. My dad got me hooked on 24, but besides that, yeah. Project Runway and ANTM are my favorite shows. And then there's American Idol, Road To Stardom, Made, Biggest Loser, etc. . . Sometimes, I gotta say it's very rare, but sometimes I even scrape the bottom of the barrel with the Surreal Life!

Anyway though, I said all that to say that I'm watching more tv than ever and thus seeing more commercials than ever. The other day I saw one that quite shocked me, for personal reasons as I will now detail. Now, the commercial wasn't racy or obscene, and it wasn't offensive either. It was, however, for mayonnaise.
That's not the shocking part. But see, it was about a new design for the mayo jar with a huge big square mouth, finally allowing people craving mayo to get more with every scoop. The shock? Wait for it. . . .
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the people in the mayonnaise commercial are Black!!!

I am too, so I hope nobody's offended, but seeing a Black family in a mayo commercial completely surprised me. Black folks don't like mayo, says the common stereotype. Just watch Undercover Brother if you don't believe me. And then there's this commercial where not only does the Black family like mayonnaise, but they love it so much they have to get more of it out of the jar with every scoop of the spoon. I mean, that blew my mind. And what's more, and better, this commercial started me thinking. Yes. From the revelation of the mayonnaise commercial I have come to understand that a couple other stereotypes need to be cleared from my mind. So, on this my blog debut, I present the following:

Assumptions I Should Never Make Again In Life
(an annotated list)

-- Black people don't like to swim. Now, from my acquaintance this is true, and completely understandable. We haven't, on the whole, had good experiences with large bodies of water in the past. But, I'm sure there are millions of Black folks out there who love the water and love to swim. I don't know you, but you must exist. You must.

-- Black people don't like rock and roll. Well, for my part, this is largely true. Too many screeching guitars and wild screams and the party's over for me. Yet, Black taste in music is probably as eclectic as anyone else's. Living Colour, Bad Brains, Fishbone. Black rock bands.

-- Black people will not ever give up on Michael Jackson. Hmm. From the news reports these past couple of weeks, it seems that MJ's having trouble finding overwhelming support from anybody. Only die-hard fans lined up outside of his courthouse last week, and not many of those faces were Black. I'm still a fan, but I have to admit that the Moonwalker does seem crazy as a loon. . .

That's all I can think of. Divorce Court is on now I think, lol. So, gotta go. Can't miss Judge Mablean!

I think I'll come back tomorrow, but who's to say. You can see how busy I am.

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A Verse For You Today:

Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. ~ Proverbs 12:18