my place

i'm currently sitting on the front bench of a 15 passenger van, in the dark of the night, listening to Pat Benatar, while Morgan - clad in a red beanie and brown jacket, taps his hands on the steering wheel to a fun beat and Bailey - tangled up in the midst of wires, power converters, and the occasional cracker wrapper, quietly focuses on her the screen of a computer that shows a calendar.

this has become my norm once again. i don't know when riding in a car became a strong sense of comfort to me. maybe it was my first road trip to Dallas with my family when i was six. maybe the expansion of what this country actually obtains made me too curious to stay in one state. was it the bobbing of the oil rigs that caught my eye and lured me out into the road? was it the rolling hills and vineyards of northern california that told me there is still more to be seen? even in the flat, beige lands of middle america, i can see beauty in the simple (minus the cow pasture smells...yikes). was it the winding roads through farms and power lines occupied by blackbirds that made me drive farther, hoping to find the end to their waiting line that brings me back out here time and time again?

i dont know the answer to this. i do know that when i'm driving down yet another long and almost unending highway, i do feel a sense of peace.

spectrums

a pro to living in community is the over abundance of having the "new and interesting and different" coming from all aspects of life. this is most clearly found in the people i am surrounded with every day. whether i live with them or not, they bring a new view to the table. all of the people here are a conglomeration of personalities, preference, taste, opinions:

we have Alex, who is the most up-to-date person i know regarding european music, world wide riots, and indie pop culture (if he read this he might get pissed that i just labeled it "indie" sorry im not sorry).





there is Bethany - the wise and welcoming one who seems to find a way to empathically embrace stories, music, and books into a eloquent blurb of thought. add a hint of humor and sassy responses and you have found someone who seems to know your soul no matter how long or short you've known her.

amanda - the colorful and cheery self proclaimed hair stylist who literally wears her heart on her sleeve by having a tattoo of it on her left arm. she came from cleveland, her appearance matches her multifaceted and beautiful personality. the more you get to know her, the more you see the layers of what makes her the person she is - fashion, music, and an understanding of life beyond what we see and into the world of faith and unknown love.

then there is Stuy - the dreamer. the explorer. not only is his mind in a place of constant "what ifs?", he is never slow to jump off a ledge and somersault to the ground. he looks at the world as a playground - each location is a new spot to make it his own. he will find a crazy story, and he will incorporate into his own adventurous heart no matter where he is or what he's doing.



clearly there are multitudes of more people in this cluster of beautiful. i just wanted to share with you a few who have expanded my concept of what it means to live, breathe, and think differently than the status quo. the great thing is that its genuine. they are who they are and that is all there is to say. i am constantly expanding and growing to see not just one, but many ways of the possibilities to view life.

(if any of the aforementioned people read this and hate their picture, all i can say is you're always good looking)