The Road Less Traveled By

It's the hackneyed phrase spotted everywhere. You can buy it printed on coasters, posters, cards, t-shirts, anything. It's everywhere. 

Except in a lot of people's lives. 

The phrase is cliche, but I'm not sure if it's that overused in actions. 

And I don't know if I can recommend that you live your life by it.

The road less traveled by is not for the weak, or the faint of heart.

 It's not for people who can't deal with a lot of conflict, a lot of pain, a lot of heartbreak. 

The road less traveled by is lonely. 

People will leave you. Your family won't understand. Your friendships will be tested. Your relationships won't always travel with you. Some people can't fit their hearts into a suitcase. Some people will never be mobile. 

I don't mean to say that to stay in any one place is bad. I don't mean to say that anything is right or wrong. 

The road less traveled by is the road you know deep within your soul that you are meant to take. 

It's usually never the easiest road. It's usually the most difficult one.

 It's the one that makes people around you question what you're doing, defy your choices, fight you, question you. 

And just because you're on the right road doesn't mean there will always be peace. Actually if there's always peace, you're probably not on the right path. There is such a thing as having a peaceful spirit through the path, but the path will never be consistently peaceful. It will throw everything in your way to keep you from moving along. 

But to do anything else, we think, is unfathomable. 

When you take the road less traveled by, you will see the most beautiful views in the world. 

The road less traveled by is your road, the one meant for you. Not the one you choose because you are afraid, not the one you fall into, not the place you stop to sit and do nothing. It's the road you choose despite your fear, the one you run into, the sanctuary you move through. 

That is why I must recommend it to you. It's your chance at happiness. It's your chance to be a fighter. It's your chance to be something more than you ever dreamed of. It's your chance to inspire others. 

It's your chance to live. 

So here I am, 1a.m. in Seattle (getting up at 6a.m. is not going to feel super great), in my road less traveled by, these very unfamiliar and uncharted waters. I might be 2,000 miles away from Oklahoma, but I'm still very much in the middle of tornadoes. 

To my wonderful friends: thank you for believing in me, especially since I've sat down in the middle of my path and had a good cry (or two.. or twenty). Sometimes that's all we can do. 

Sometimes there aren't enough rocks. 

There are so many of you that I am completely in awe of, for being so brave and choosing your paths. I am inspired by you. I believe in you. Whatever your path is, wherever it takes you, don't stop following it. Go where you need to go. Do what you need to do. Run through the heartbreak with open arms, believing that there is the other side of someday with a rainbow stretched out across the sky for miles and miles, a world of chocolate bars and baseball cards. 

Spring Awakening: the season to rise again

 If a picture's worth a thousand words...
Here are all of mine.

These are all from my friend's family beach house in Seattle, off of the Key Peninsula. It is absolutely glorious, everything you could ever dream of a beach house being. It's heaven on earth. I've gotten to do so many new things- like watch baby seals play in the ocean, hold real starfish, dig for clams and then make a dinner out of them... it's rejuvenating.

This year my life has felt like I was falling down from a thousand stories tall without anything to grasp or hold onto. A tornado of change.
Sometimes the little things are the things that end up helping. Sometimes as I go through my day I try to make myself more aware of the things that are still the same. I make a note of them. I hold onto them.
I whisper them to myself...

I still insist on throwing out my toothbrush and replacing it with a new one every couple of weeks

I still love to dance


I still talk about waffles more than any normal person ever should

I am still 5 feet tall (and will most likely always be)


I still sing what should be normal sentences or answers


I still love glitter. Lots and lots of it.

I still find some of the greatest peace in listening to or playing music

I can still play Chopin's prelude in e minor by heart from memory

I still believe in God


I still (and always will) laugh when talking to anyone in my family

I still have the best of friends, better than I deserve, better than I could have asked for, more wonderful than starshines


I still dislike hot dogs, hamburgers, and donuts 


I still love the rain. And I still love the sunshine. 


I still believe that Seattle is one of the most beautiful places for any kind of artist to be

I could still swing for hours and be happy. Or read books. 

I still love theatre. Possibly more than ever before. 


I will still change. That is a constant I can count on.
Even the things that seem still are still changing, but yet, there are some things that really won't change.

I hope you are okay with whatever changes you have to fall through, and I also hope you are okay with the things that don't change. Perhaps they are just as beautiful.
Until I have more actual words, here are your thousands and thousands of the other kind of words...