Thursday, October 15, 2015

What do we have wrong?

I'm skipping ahead on the list today. So many seemed so "meh" to me and this one really stood out.
"What popular notion do you think the world has most wrong?"

That's easy: That someone is always right.

For SO many countless issues, there is no right or wrong answer. Or right side in a fight. No one has all the information. People's backgrounds, experiences, and personalities influence their decisions and viewpoints. Take, for example, gun control. Person A survived a mass shooting. He is an advocate for stricter gun laws. Person B had his life saved by a "good guy" with a gun who stopped Person B's assaulter. He is an advocate for everyone owning guns. Both have strong, valid viewpoints and both think theirs is the correct answer.

Basically every issue in every debate is the same. Also for wars. Each country involved believes firmly they are fighting on the correct side. No one goes to war believing that they're wrong.

So what IS the answer? There is no easy solution. People are so firmly entrenched in their beliefs that most refuse to even consider the other side. Until that happens, I fear we are doomed to a society of hatred and conflict.

Saturday, October 10, 2015

The future was wide open

(I can hear that song line in my head but can't remember what song it's from)

Back to the 30 day writing prompts... oops.

What is my dream job?

Well. That sounds like an easy question, right? Like the old question "What would you do for work if money was not an issue?"  I can never decide, though.

I really want to be a writer full time. Like, feel-it-in-my-bones kind of want. The problem is, I can't write when other people are around, at all. I'm too easily distracted. So that would be pretty hard to accomplish with a family, unless by some miracle money really wasn't an issue and I could stay home and write while the girls were at school.

Also, I'd love to own my own book shop. I even have a Pinterest board dedicated to that. I want it in an old building with character. I want a fireplace, book club meetings, children's events.

I think I want the first one more, though. The book shop would be more of a fun side project. My biggest dream is just to move past the self-doubt and fear that has built up a brick wall and just WRITE.

Friday, October 9, 2015

Feels like Flashback Friday

So I'm registered for Nanowrimo, and volunteering with Girl Scouts so my daughter can participate. What year is it again?

Five years ago I attempted Nano. Not easy with a busy 12 year old and an infant in the house. I wrote more on one project that ever before, though! I didn't finish, but I was proud of how much I did accomplish. Now that those girls are 17 and 5, and I'm not quite as frantic, I'm trying again. I'm actually excited about it, although nervous. I'm not going to pressure myself, though. This is good motivation for me to actually finish what I started then, and actually do something with it. I'm tired of thinking "what if."

And then there's Girl Scouts. Sophie has wanted to join since she was 3. Our teenager was a Brownie and a Junior, and I was her leader for the Junior years. It was overwhelming and exhausting, and she was an only child. The troop dissolved when I had pregnancy complications when Sophie was coming along, so it's been six years since I've done this. We had a great time, but the overwhelmed feeling is my primary memory of those years. I was glad to register Sophie, but told myself I wasn't going to be a leader this time around.

But now, the GS rules are different. Two committed adults are required to form a troop now. I had originally said I'd be a parental support, but only one other parent had volunteered to be one of the leaders. So the person running the meeting said "Ok, no troop formed today, I'll put you all down as interested and we'll see where we can go from there."  Okay fine. I'll do it. It will be easier with two of us, and several parents have also said they'd help out. I'm anxious to get this started, which makes me impatient. I'd love to fast-forward through the training and set up and just DO it! But then again, I know nothing at all about Daisies so the training will be quite helpful. And, it has been six years. I'm sure I've forgotten a lot of things and others have changed.

I know it will all be worth it.