life and stuff..
There are certain things that you will never know about a person. This fact is hard for me. Sometimes I wish that we walked around with a large badge that listed the bravest things we have done, gave note to our sad experiences and underlined where we came from. I think things would be much easier this way. Easier to make friends or break them, easier to ‘not judge the book by it’s cover’… those sorts of things would ‘poof’ be gone. I wish the world worked that way...or maybe I don’t it might be to simple.
More times than not people size me up pretty quickly, they think they know what type of person I am (or what type of person I am not) just by my demeanor and my clothes. It makes me sad because I have a lot more to offer than those things. More to offer but not enough energy to make my case be known.
I don’t interject my experience, likes or dislikes into a conversation…. I just don’t.
So, I’d like share here some of my life experiences that have made me- me. They are proof of my strength, my adventure, bravery and love for life and my ability to try anything once and to just stay open.
Here are 5 things about me you probably don’t know and would have never guessed.
1. I’ve backpacked through the entirety of the collegiate peaks in Colorado, not to mention 3-4 other ‘fourteeners’ in the state. *Yes this means camping, like real camping where you carry everything you need on your back and walk like 11-17 miles a day.
2. I’ve been ambushed by Mexican Federals and had my vehicle held at gunpoint (3-6person gunpoint) TWICE.
3. I have run a marathon, and actually the marathon was misrouted which caused an extra 2 miles to be added to the run. That leaves me running not 26, but 28 miles. (P.S. i hate running)
4. I’ve also went through outdoor survival training, meaning if you left me in the woods without my hair straighter and nail polish… surprise surprise I’d have a good chance of surviving.
5. I’ve volunteered in one of the top 10 most dangerous neighborhoods of Mexico City, the outskirts of Tepito as well as the slum of San Jose, Costa Rica- La Carpio.
And an extra fun one for good measure!
* I have eaten: chickens feet, pigs ear, grasshoppers……
I hope this doesn’t come across as bragging but lately I have felt this feistiness to just express that I more than what you see. Not unusual, but I have been really thinking on this for awhile and how easy it is to go through life and only see the shell of a person. I think that we need to be proud of our hardships and our ‘scary moments’, that we should try and embrace the situations that make us curse in our head or cry in public because in the end they really do tell a great story. They will tell the story of you and the people who matter will love to hear those things about you. I am beginning to realize that the good and the bad are essential to life. You learn just as much from a good experience than from a bad one. That is a hard pill for me to swallow being that I’d love to wake up one day and live the life of a princess (not kidding, secret garden princess or princess Kate.. no preference). So here is my point- when things suck, and like really suck, when they are hard or mundane or scary or boring or earth shattering shitty – good for you! Life must be doing something great with you and your perspective. Don’t give up, don’t give in to the negative energy- just breath, smile (even if you fake it) and take each day at a time. I think it means life is making you into more of a person. A person with depth and presence, someone who knows love and hardship, someone you can pass by and instantly feel a connection with.
So thanks life for giving me scary and shitty situations, thanks for allowing me to have a real story and the hope of one day connecting to more people because of it.
Xoxo
-jane
