Day 8, a whole lot late.
:::ETA::: This post was written on June 9th, but due to the marvels of travel and different time zones, I am posting it and the next entry on the 10th.
Thanks to the miracle of modern technology, I am writing this from the plane. You have to admire human ingenuity, that means that I have the means not only to move hundreds of kilometers inside a matter of an hour or so, but that it's barely an inconvenience to do so. I am thousands of feet above the ground, but I'm seated as though I'm in a movie theatre and supplied with pretzels and a soft drink and have my laptop out in front of me like it's absolutely nothing. In less than an hour I will be in a completely different city, and will likely have internet access again without having to think about it too hard.
(I can feel the tray bouncing as I type, even though I'm being careful. I'm a little worried I must be irritating the poor lady sitting in front of me. Hopefully she'll let me know if that's the case. )
Still, isn't it incredible? I know that on many flights in the U.S. they even have wifi available on board. It's not the case with this flight, but we've basically reached the point where air travel is as mundane (though not nearly as cheap) as driving or taking the train or the bus.
Anyway, on with today's (or, actually, yesterday's) post! t! has asked me to write about who my role models are, and though he didn't specify, I assume he wanted me to go into the reasons for which I picked these role models.
I will have to start out by disappointing my readers, because I don't have role models in the way that most people seem to define the term. I have never been particularly drawn to one person or even several people who would qualify for that: no one famous, no one who would be well-known for their accomplishments in a given field, no one that, if I pointed to them, people would nod their heads sagely and say "Ah, yes, of course. That person is a great role model!"
Of course, there have been plenty of famous people that I have admired over the years. Far too many to list here, ranging from artists to scientists, from pioneers to politicians (yes, even politicians!), from writers to philosophers, from actors to activists, and dozens in between. That being said, I've never felt that I needed to model myself after any of them, in either my personality, my attitude, or my lifestyle.
Which brings me back to the original question. Who are my role models? The simple answer to that is that my role models are my friends and family and, occasionally, my coworkers.
I've always had the personality of a very personable and educated golden retriever. I'm loyal and generally pretty happy, but I tend to stick very close to my "pack" and don't go looking for things outside that. I like to say that I'm a very well socialized introvert, and that comes out in how I look to others in order to pattern my own behavior. (That sentence made more sense in my head. Perhaps if I carry on explaining it will become clearer.)
I think it boils down to the fact that I've always had a pretty strong sense of self. While I am as a rule a giant bundle of neuroses wrapped up in a bow, I have never doubted my own identity in such a way as to cast doubt on all my core values and beliefs. I have on more than one occasion let discussions and arguments go by in the name of keeping the peace or just saving myself the unpleasantness of having to get into delicate subject matter with people I didn't trust not to hurt me, but I never abandoned my own values in the process.
Because of this strong sense of self, I've never felt the need to seek out traditional role models. What I did instead was look for people who had values similar to mine, and I then looked to these people for inspiration on specific topics. It would take too long to go through all these people individually, because I tend to pick my friends based on qualities I admire in them, so in that sense every single one of my friends ends up as a role model to me in some way.
I'm going to pick a few examples, mostly off the top of my head, with no particular thought as to importance or preference or anything of the sort. Seriously, please don't anyone be offended if you're not mentioned here, because I meant what I said: everyone I know has at least one thing about them that I admire and try to emulate in some way, if not several things. :)
So, for instance, I have fearsclave and ai731 who have served as an inspiration for living according to their values, for moving away from city life and making great strides toward living sustainably and also mindfully. They've both approached it in different ways, but I can admire both their approaches, and in so doing I am taking note on how I might adapt my own life in order to do something very similar.
My parents are another source of inspiration for me, in particular when it comes to what I might artfully call "feeding the soul." No matter what, they have always made space in their lives for art in all its forms. My mother to this day insists on setting the table for dinner in such a way as to make sure it's beautiful, be it with table cloths, beautifully folded napkins, or with candlelight. My mother reminds me all the time to stop and look around, to find all the beautiful things in life that we tend to take for granted. My father doesn't let a day go by without playing music, and will often spend an entire day on the weekend sitting in a chair and reading poetry, just because he can. Sometimes he'll read comic books instead, which reminds me that fun and simple things can be enjoyed no matter what your age.
I look to tcaptain and t! and toughlovemuse and countless fandom friends for motivation and inspiration to write. They make me want to surpass myself every time I put pen to paper, they remind me that even shitty words are better than no words. They make me remember what it is to love the written word, to embrace my identity as a writer, to wield my pen as a tool for improving the world rather than a weapon (though they also encourage me to use it as a weapon if needs be too).
I have friends (not on LJ) who inspire me to travel, who remind me of my love for adventure and discovering new places. I have friends to whom I look for guidance when it comes to getting all my shit organized, to keeping my finances healthy, to putting all my papers in order so that I don't constantly have to learn my bureaucratic lessons the hard way.
I have friends who are brilliant parents, and I can only hope one day to be half as good as they are at parenting, if I'm ever lucky enough to have a child (or children) of my own. I have friends who aren’t parents in the strictest sense of the word, but who have pets of all kinds and who are some of the most caring people I know.
My friends remind me to love music in all its forms. They remind me that activism is a driving force in our world, and that no change will come without everyone pitching in and doing what's needed to make it come about. All of my friends go out to vote, and encourage others to do the same.
In short, if I were to sum up my philosophy in life, it would be as follows: Surround yourself with the people you want to be like.
Thanks to the miracle of modern technology, I am writing this from the plane. You have to admire human ingenuity, that means that I have the means not only to move hundreds of kilometers inside a matter of an hour or so, but that it's barely an inconvenience to do so. I am thousands of feet above the ground, but I'm seated as though I'm in a movie theatre and supplied with pretzels and a soft drink and have my laptop out in front of me like it's absolutely nothing. In less than an hour I will be in a completely different city, and will likely have internet access again without having to think about it too hard.
(I can feel the tray bouncing as I type, even though I'm being careful. I'm a little worried I must be irritating the poor lady sitting in front of me. Hopefully she'll let me know if that's the case. )
Still, isn't it incredible? I know that on many flights in the U.S. they even have wifi available on board. It's not the case with this flight, but we've basically reached the point where air travel is as mundane (though not nearly as cheap) as driving or taking the train or the bus.
Anyway, on with today's (or, actually, yesterday's) post! t! has asked me to write about who my role models are, and though he didn't specify, I assume he wanted me to go into the reasons for which I picked these role models.
I will have to start out by disappointing my readers, because I don't have role models in the way that most people seem to define the term. I have never been particularly drawn to one person or even several people who would qualify for that: no one famous, no one who would be well-known for their accomplishments in a given field, no one that, if I pointed to them, people would nod their heads sagely and say "Ah, yes, of course. That person is a great role model!"
Of course, there have been plenty of famous people that I have admired over the years. Far too many to list here, ranging from artists to scientists, from pioneers to politicians (yes, even politicians!), from writers to philosophers, from actors to activists, and dozens in between. That being said, I've never felt that I needed to model myself after any of them, in either my personality, my attitude, or my lifestyle.
Which brings me back to the original question. Who are my role models? The simple answer to that is that my role models are my friends and family and, occasionally, my coworkers.
I've always had the personality of a very personable and educated golden retriever. I'm loyal and generally pretty happy, but I tend to stick very close to my "pack" and don't go looking for things outside that. I like to say that I'm a very well socialized introvert, and that comes out in how I look to others in order to pattern my own behavior. (That sentence made more sense in my head. Perhaps if I carry on explaining it will become clearer.)
I think it boils down to the fact that I've always had a pretty strong sense of self. While I am as a rule a giant bundle of neuroses wrapped up in a bow, I have never doubted my own identity in such a way as to cast doubt on all my core values and beliefs. I have on more than one occasion let discussions and arguments go by in the name of keeping the peace or just saving myself the unpleasantness of having to get into delicate subject matter with people I didn't trust not to hurt me, but I never abandoned my own values in the process.
Because of this strong sense of self, I've never felt the need to seek out traditional role models. What I did instead was look for people who had values similar to mine, and I then looked to these people for inspiration on specific topics. It would take too long to go through all these people individually, because I tend to pick my friends based on qualities I admire in them, so in that sense every single one of my friends ends up as a role model to me in some way.
I'm going to pick a few examples, mostly off the top of my head, with no particular thought as to importance or preference or anything of the sort. Seriously, please don't anyone be offended if you're not mentioned here, because I meant what I said: everyone I know has at least one thing about them that I admire and try to emulate in some way, if not several things. :)
So, for instance, I have fearsclave and ai731 who have served as an inspiration for living according to their values, for moving away from city life and making great strides toward living sustainably and also mindfully. They've both approached it in different ways, but I can admire both their approaches, and in so doing I am taking note on how I might adapt my own life in order to do something very similar.
My parents are another source of inspiration for me, in particular when it comes to what I might artfully call "feeding the soul." No matter what, they have always made space in their lives for art in all its forms. My mother to this day insists on setting the table for dinner in such a way as to make sure it's beautiful, be it with table cloths, beautifully folded napkins, or with candlelight. My mother reminds me all the time to stop and look around, to find all the beautiful things in life that we tend to take for granted. My father doesn't let a day go by without playing music, and will often spend an entire day on the weekend sitting in a chair and reading poetry, just because he can. Sometimes he'll read comic books instead, which reminds me that fun and simple things can be enjoyed no matter what your age.
I look to tcaptain and t! and toughlovemuse and countless fandom friends for motivation and inspiration to write. They make me want to surpass myself every time I put pen to paper, they remind me that even shitty words are better than no words. They make me remember what it is to love the written word, to embrace my identity as a writer, to wield my pen as a tool for improving the world rather than a weapon (though they also encourage me to use it as a weapon if needs be too).
I have friends (not on LJ) who inspire me to travel, who remind me of my love for adventure and discovering new places. I have friends to whom I look for guidance when it comes to getting all my shit organized, to keeping my finances healthy, to putting all my papers in order so that I don't constantly have to learn my bureaucratic lessons the hard way.
I have friends who are brilliant parents, and I can only hope one day to be half as good as they are at parenting, if I'm ever lucky enough to have a child (or children) of my own. I have friends who aren’t parents in the strictest sense of the word, but who have pets of all kinds and who are some of the most caring people I know.
My friends remind me to love music in all its forms. They remind me that activism is a driving force in our world, and that no change will come without everyone pitching in and doing what's needed to make it come about. All of my friends go out to vote, and encourage others to do the same.
In short, if I were to sum up my philosophy in life, it would be as follows: Surround yourself with the people you want to be like.