On Unsolicited Advice and Warrantless Worry:
Bob and I are getting married in December. He is currently in Thailand, and I am in Jacksonville. I will be in Jacksonville until Bob graduates from JU in December of 2011. I hate Jacksonville, but I love Bob and feel the need to clear the air on some issues people seem insistent on giving me advice about.
I am not living for this man, nor am I putting my life on hold for him, or sacrificing my goals, beliefs, or principles for him. What I am doing is preparing to build a life with him. I am staying in Jacksonville not because he is making me, but because I support him. I am staying here because I can make artwork anywhere, and because when he gets home, I want to see him succeed first hand, and help him in any way I can. My life is not for Bob, it is with him.
My goals have changed, which is not uncommon in humans. I've said it before, though never so publicly (if a blog can be considered public), that if on my tombstone it merely says that I have been a wife, mother, and artist, it will be enough. I've never had any big dream to be a rock star or an astronaut. All I have ever wanted from my life is stability and contentedness. Being with Bob has taught me that I want more. I want that stability and contentedness, but also the love that I'd never thought possible. The love that I share with him. I want countless experiences that are shared with him.
Finally, I am not becoming a Republican. I swear, this is a ridiculous rumor that may or may not have started because of a drinking game. I believe in smaller government, freedom to live as one wishes without harming others, and I believe that gun laws are an opiate to those who do not understand that owning a gun does not equate to malign intent. That being said, I believe in the death penalty, and a woman's right to choose, though it is not a choice I would ever wish to make. A woman's body does not belong to her government, nor does the right to declare ones love through matrimony. Gay marriage harms nothing but the egos of those who are unable to repress imposing their beliefs on others. My socio- economic, political, and religious schemas are mine, and mine alone. I am not a set of predictively checked boxes, the opinion that I am in the minds of my friends is abhorrent.
Can we now, please, put this beast to bed. I am not changing for a man. I am changing on my own, for myself, and choosing to share my life with a man. A man I deservedly set above all others. I cannot imagine why this might offend anyone.
I am not living for this man, nor am I putting my life on hold for him, or sacrificing my goals, beliefs, or principles for him. What I am doing is preparing to build a life with him. I am staying in Jacksonville not because he is making me, but because I support him. I am staying here because I can make artwork anywhere, and because when he gets home, I want to see him succeed first hand, and help him in any way I can. My life is not for Bob, it is with him.
My goals have changed, which is not uncommon in humans. I've said it before, though never so publicly (if a blog can be considered public), that if on my tombstone it merely says that I have been a wife, mother, and artist, it will be enough. I've never had any big dream to be a rock star or an astronaut. All I have ever wanted from my life is stability and contentedness. Being with Bob has taught me that I want more. I want that stability and contentedness, but also the love that I'd never thought possible. The love that I share with him. I want countless experiences that are shared with him.
Finally, I am not becoming a Republican. I swear, this is a ridiculous rumor that may or may not have started because of a drinking game. I believe in smaller government, freedom to live as one wishes without harming others, and I believe that gun laws are an opiate to those who do not understand that owning a gun does not equate to malign intent. That being said, I believe in the death penalty, and a woman's right to choose, though it is not a choice I would ever wish to make. A woman's body does not belong to her government, nor does the right to declare ones love through matrimony. Gay marriage harms nothing but the egos of those who are unable to repress imposing their beliefs on others. My socio- economic, political, and religious schemas are mine, and mine alone. I am not a set of predictively checked boxes, the opinion that I am in the minds of my friends is abhorrent.
Can we now, please, put this beast to bed. I am not changing for a man. I am changing on my own, for myself, and choosing to share my life with a man. A man I deservedly set above all others. I cannot imagine why this might offend anyone.