The idea of “home” in my head looks nothing like where I actually live
When I picture a “home” I imagine a 2000 square foot cookie cutter suburban house, with builder beige walls, that is neat as a pin and sparsely decorated.
But I’ve never lived in a house that’s been decorated like this. If you gave me a million dollar budget and an entire Pottery Barn catalog to choose from I would never, ever come out of the other side with rooms decorated like this.
So why is this somehow the gold standard for me? How in the world does this read as “home” when I’ve never had a home that looks anything like it?
How to know when to conform and when to rebel
No matter how determined you may be to fit in and go with the flow, there is a point at which you, too, would rebel. Where you would draw the line between conformity and rebellion would be much different than mine. But it’s really important to articulate exactly what that line is for you. Here are two questions can help you get started…
On good looks, ugliness, image, and what we teach our kids…
“We talk about body shape, size and weight, but rarely about distorted features. And we talk about plainness, but not faces that would make a surgeon’s fingers itch.
“The Ugly Duckling” is widely assumed to be the story of his own life. But the moral of that story was that a swan would emerge from the body of an outcast, and that you could not repress the nobility of a swan in a crowd of common ducks.
What if you just stay a duck?”
What is “home” to you?
I’m in my 50s, and getting ready to move, again. As I look at new apartments, etc, I realized I am really looking for a place that feels like “home.” But… I am having trouble visualizing what I’m actually looking for. Do you know what “home” is for you?
My pregnant battle with Body Image Demons
Like a lot of people, I have a complicated relationship with my body. My body is wonderful. But due to not unusual hang-ups and high school experiences, I don’t treat my body as a friend of any sort. My body and I are were getting to a good place though. And, then I got pregnant. Though I was (and am) very excited to be pregnant, I was also now in full combat with the Body Image Demons™.
How dare you enjoy your own culture
Remember that one time when Nicki Minaj wore a feathered headdress to announce her PinkPrint tour? A lot of people said, “Whoa, girl, why are you wearing a Native American headdress? Not cool, that’s not yours.”
Then other people said, “Simmer down, that’s not Native American, that’s a carnival headdress; it’s cool because she was born in Trinidad.”
It’s the Tumblr trap of trying to stop cultural appropriation in its tracks — but accidentally giving people flack for enjoying their own culture.
How Doctor Who inspired me to let go of the past
It might sound odd, that The Doctor — a character from a TV show, who travels freely in space and time — has inspired me to let go of the past. But hear me out…
I’m an anarchist and so are you (probably)
Smashing the windows of Starbucks, a giant red encircled A, and the music of the Sex Pistols… these are the things, images, and sounds that may be evoked when people are discussing anarchy. I’m writing to set the record straight and share with you the ways in which anarchy can and should be incorporated into everyday life.