Sunday, January 3, 2016

Circus Tents, Enthusiasm, and Being "Authentic"

An aerialist friend of mine, who I'll call E. for privacy's sake, recently came to me with an idea: a tent to go over her outdoor rig so that she could leave her silks and lyra up without having to worry about weather damage. Well, in all fairness, it very well could have been less an idea for a real project and more wishful musings on her part, but I've never let that stop me before. As is my way, I jumped on it. Within 15 minutes I had Plans.  There would be stripes and stitching, multi-fabric layers, and a specially made entrance to allow for air circulation. 

We've worked on the design since then, and trust me, if we can get it off the ground (I mean that literally), I'll be more than happy to share pictures.

While I'm sure there is something that can be said on the fact that I perhaps shoved my way into another person's project - though she seems as enthusiastic about it as I do so I don't think my involvement is in any way unwelcome - the moment that really sticks out for me in all this was a comment E. made to me during that first conversation.

"You're so unapologetically enthusiastic.  You allow yourself to get excited about things and show it."  Okay, so that's not a direct quote, but what she said was something to that effect.

E. and I talked about being publicly enthusiastic, about what it meant to be openly and unashamedly excited, even when what you're geeking out over is, well, a bit geeky or weird. That was about a month ago.  Then something strange, for me, happened.  People I've known for years starting commenting on how happy they were that I'm still "odd" "strange" and (my personal favorite) "peculiar" despite my recent foray in the military.  These observations, I think, stem from a decision I made after I completed my active duty contract that I was going to see what it was like to be my "authentic self" (I use quotes because I didn't actually use that term - that came from my mentor, B.).

So I ask the question, what does that mean - to be your "authentic self"?  It can't just be about allowing oneself to be publicly excited about building a circus tent, or having a very particular method of cooking stew, or using my real name on the internet (which is no small thing). I'm kind of hoping I'll find an answer to that question over the course of the next year, perhaps in part with this blog, or that I'll at least make a dent in finding what it means for me.

So.... here are some things to look forward to if you stick around:
  • My adventures in kitchen witching
  • Pictures of my hat collection
  • Pictures of my cat (because of course!)
  • Projects (like the circus tent)
  • Ramblings on my journey as an aspiring aerialist
  • Ramblings on my novel I'm working on getting published
  • My stories from the road
  • Whatever else I happen to feel like posting, which could be a lot of random...

1 comment:

  1. Looks around and notices that i am first to comment.

    This is a Great start Dawn, cant wait to see whats next.

    ReplyDelete