Monday, November 25, 2013

In Defense of Staying Behind

I have wanted to go my whole life.

The first stories I remember ever writing were about getting away, escaping - to other worlds, to glorious adventures, just anywhere but the boring ordinariness of here.

The first story I was ever enthralled with was Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. There were many reasons for this, but a huge one among them was that here was this boy (in his impressive wolf suit) whose bedroom walls fell away and became trees and a vast ocean and a whole wide world where things could happen. The place where the Wild Things are. I don't think that at 5 years old I ever really saw my bedroom walls as a thing that held me back. Shelter, protection, sure, but not ever a prison. That's the thinking of someone older, perhaps a teenager or young adult. But when I was five I still knew that there were places of wonder and adventure, and that more than anything I wanted to get there, wherever there was, somehow.

I am 27 and I still live in the same town I grew up in. I've been away. I've seen many places in this wide world. North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and there are still whole continents and countries yet to explore. But always, every time, I've found my way back here. Right now (due to financial troubles and the kindness of my parents) I'm even living in the very house I grew up in, inside those walls I once wished would fall away as Max's had that very first time I read Maurice Sendak's book. I am a young woman now, but I am fearful. I am not good at making new friends. It is difficult to let people in. Even with people I've known for years, I can still speak with the awkwardness and shielded replies of a first-time encounter. To go somewhere new for me now would mean to be alone, to have to be brave in ways I'm not sure I've ever had to be. To go, to get away, to escape - it could mean adventure, but I could also very easily end up as one of the first two brothers in all those fairy tales: led astray by my flaws or failings, led to ruin by my attitudes and appetites.

Being a person with this kind of heart, a heart that longs to wander and wilts at being planted, I have met many others who feel the same way but have been braver than me. When I daydream about leaving, they actually go. Where I fly in for a ten day vacation, a tourist and outsider, they find the hidden pathways and local haunts and splashes of color no guidebook would ever think to mention. And it's not just in travel; you see it often in careers as well. Staying in one place in your job is often seen as stasis. Shouldn't you want to climb up that ladder, move to a location that's more convenient for you, find a position that's better paying? Change is akin to growth, is it not? Adding experiences and challenges? (Don't get me started on this. I have a whole other rant about the lost art of apprenticeship that must be saved for another day.) Some people have to update their C.V. every nine months or less, because that's how often they need to add something new. And I've seen it firsthand. I've been in this current job for nearly four years now. In those four years at the library I've seen 15-20 people go, probably more. It's been at least 6 or 7 in this past year alone.

All my life all my dreams have said: go, go, go.

So what's it like to be the person that stays?

For the heart that likes to wander, one of the scariest things about staying is how oftentimes so much is the same. You go to the same place at the same time and sign in on the same timesheet. You fall quickly into routines. Cleaning computers, shelving books, pulling messages, taking down old displays and putting up new ones, submitting program proposals and supply request forms. Quarterly meetings, twice monthly time card submissions, sending birthday cards around to all the staff to make sure everyone signs. There are things you do over and over again until you're pretty sure you don't even need to use your brain to do them. You could put "Sendak" before "Seuss" on the shelving cart in your sleep, and with the way life sometimes seeps into dreams, who knows? You probably have. In the outside world, it's a matter of driving down the same roads every day, going to the same restaurants or local haunts with your friends, feeling like you know every nook and cranny of this place you've decided to call home.

But one of the things you start to notice when you stay behind is how much things change. It may be gradual, it may be little spurts here and there, but it's something. A new park or coffee shop or art gallery opens. New people arrive at work to take the positions others vacated. The outer trappings of a place may stay the same, but with each new person, new ideas and new procedures take effect. New debates are brought to light. New responsibilities fall into your lap. I started this job as a part-time children's librarian and have somehow ended up being the teen services guru at my branch. There are endless surprises. People are constantly changing and growing, whether their surroundings and job titles do or not.

What I've found by now is that it's okay to to want to go and it's okay to want to stay, but ultimately the best possible thing is just to come to peace with where you are, for however long you may be there. When you rush off from place to place you miss seeing some incredible transformations that may take time and patience to come to fruition. But when you become so comfortable in your one tiny little corner of the world you miss out on bigger perspectives and all the glorious people and places and stories this world has to offer. Either way, you limit yourself.

So I'm okay right now being the person that stays. One day I will go. I want to try to find a balance. Like Max, I want to go to the place where the Wild Things are, but to understand when it's time to come back for that warm supper and that comfortable bed and the loved ones awaiting me at home.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

WTF, Depression!?

Hey Depression, it's me again. Your good old pal Grace.

You know, it's been a while since we've had to sit down like this and have a little talk. You've been so good about giving me space and only coming around every once in a while, but lately... well, lately, dude, it hasn't been good. You're getting stalkerish. You won't leave, like, EVER.

It's really getting to be a problem.

So yeah, we're having it again, the "it's not you, it's me" talk. Only, it's not me, and it is so totally you.  You really need to cut it out already.

Stop leeching the color from my days, and the energy from my bones, and the ideas from my head.

It's not "cute" and it's not helpful. It sucks.

I'm not very into violence; I don't think it solves problems, just goes on to create more. That said, right now I seriously want to punch you in the face. Kick you in the shins. Or the groin. Or all of the above.

Get the fuck away from me, loser. I'm putting out a restraining order.

It's my life. You're not allowed to be a part of it anymore.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Sleep On?


I came across this on Pinterest. The person who pinned it obviously thinks of it as a reference to a fun Disney movie, nothing more. I love Sleeping Beauty, so please don't think of what I'm about to say as a criticism of the film. But please DO think of what I'm about to say as a strong criticism of the message.

Look at those words again... "One day you'll awaken to love's first kiss. Until then, sleeping beauty, sleep on..."

This is frustrating to me on so many levels.

I think the idea of love's first kiss is beautiful, and is certainly something to look forward to. But it should not be the main thing that characterizes a person's life.

"But Grace," you say. "That's from the original fairy tale. That's why it's called Sleeping Beauty, because she pricks her finger and sleeps for years and years until the prince fights his way into the castle and wakes her with a kiss. This is old news."

Yes, I say to you in reply. This is old news. But consider: in the fairy tale, this lengthy sleep that befalls our heroine is a tragedy. It's the result of a malevolent being actively working to harm her. It's a sad and bad thing that she would avoid if at all possible, but since she can't - phew! - it's a good thing the prince manages to come along and save the day.

The original fairy tale has its flaws, yes, but that first sentence in the image up above isn't what bothers me. It's the second part: "Till then, sleeping beauty, sleep on."

You know what that entire image is trying to do? It's trying to compare girls who haven't yet found their "one true love" to this princess in a fairy tale who sleeps until she's awakened by a kiss. "Just keep waiting, girls," it's saying. "It will happen for you someday. One day your prince will come and you can finally wake up, but TILL THEN, SLEEP ON."

Um, fuck that. 

I'm sorry for the language, but no I'm not: this calls for it. I am so enraged and offended at that notion that no other milder words will do. Seriously, what kind of moronic, backwards-thinking, downright TERRIBLE advice is that!?!?

Listen, girls. No - actually, scratch that. Listen up, EVERYONE:

DO NOT LIVE YOUR LIFE FAST ASLEEP. 

DO NOT WAIT AROUND FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO GIVE YOUR LIFE MEANING. 

YOUR LIFE HAS MEANING ALREADY. YOU ARE WONDERFUL AND MAGNIFICENT AND SO MUCH MORE COMPLEX AND INTRICATE AND ASTONISHING THAN ANY OF US COULD EVEN IMAGINE. SO LIVE LIKE IT.

If someone comes along one day who recognizes that and wants to sweep you off your feet, then HURRAY! Let them. Let that person give you the fairy tale kiss, or kiss them if you'd rather make the first move. But know this: they did not save you. One person does not save another person in this godforsaken life. WE SAVE EACH OTHER. Every single day. That's what a relationship is.

So there it is. I entirely reject the notion in that image up above. We need to stop reinforcing these horrible, harmful ideas.

Live your life. Be brave and kind and true. Wake up and see the light.