Interesting.

(Edit: I was going to post this tomorrow, but I have to leave for the weekend now and have no time to blog today. So, most likely there will be no blog tomorrow. This is a post I want lots of conversation on, though, so I've decided I would rather have this sit here for two days than crank out a poop blog now. Have a great weekend!)

I genuinely, honestly believe every human is equally interesting.

Now let's talk about that sentence. (You honestly didn't think I would let that go without at LEAST three long and exhausting paragraphs of explanation, did you?!)

Last summer I was talking to a girl about my plans for this year, including my plans (now non-existent) of going to Greece this summer. Her response was, "Allyson, you're such an interesting person!" I kind of just tilted my head like dogs to when they're particularly curious. Me? Interesting? How am I any more interesting than the next person?


It seems like, in our society, people who travel a lot and are able to visit many different countries instantly become more "interesting" to others and like they have "accomplished" more in their lives. I often feel behind in every aspect of my life. Behind on the things I've accomplished. Behind on the direction on my career. Behind on experiences. Behind on places I've been. It seems like every college student is going to every country and their neighbor for every reason. All the time. I began to almost feel like if I didn't have an experience like this pronto I would somehow not be as interesting or accomplished as these people.


Last fall as I was contemplating a lot of seemingly large life decisions, it was looking more and more like studying abroad and mission trips oversees were not in my immediate future. Personally, I was okay with this, because I know there will be plenty more opportunities, but I was concerned about being "interesting" to other people. And this bothered me. What if I never leave the country during my entire four (five?) years of college? Everyone else leads so much more interesting lives than I!

This is a silly, stupid thought.

You know when you get stubborn about your problems and you get in your head that nothing anyone is going to say can make you feel better/ change your opinion? But then you hear someone say something from a direction you've never thought about before, and you just go, "Oh. Wait, that makes... a lot of sense!" I was whining about this traveling thing to a good friend here (from whom I have grown and learned a lot) and he said, "Allyson, a man who has never left his town of 300 people could be way more interesting and influential than a man who has been to every country and back."

Whoa.

Whoa.

How true is that statement?! Everyone has stories to tell. Just because they take place in foreign countries doesn't mean they are more exciting or made more of an impact on someone or something. Take advantage of everything. Strive to accomplish what you expect to receive from a journey to a foreign country right in your backyard. I know you can't see the Eiffel Tower or ski on the Alps, but there are endless amounts of experiences here just waiting for you. You just have to want them.

So, I still want to travel. I want to travel to be inspired. I want to travel for new experiences. I want to travel to help. But I don't want to... we don't need to... travel to become more interesting or complex or accomplished as a person.

That we can do riiiight here. Well, maybe I should get off this chair.

April, Y U Not Over Yet?

I'm going to be gone this weekend, so I wrote a post for Saturday and have it scheduled to be posted Saturday morning. #dedication! It's one of those think-a-lot lot posts, but it's something that I struggled with a lot in my head for a while and learned a lot from. I feel like I've almost come full circle with it, but I'd really love your input.

My April Thus Far:

April 1- "YEAAH. BEDA. So many ideas! So much enthusiasm! Let's do this!"

April 5 - "Oh yeah, goin' strong! Imma kick BEDA's butt!"

April 10 - "I'm just a blog writin' machiiine, babeh."

April 13 - "Running. out. of. ways. to hide the fact that my life... is... boring."

April 14 - "The sky is blue. You are cute. I just drank an Izzy."




You know what we should do this summer, guys? Read a book together. Let's do it. I'm up for suggestions. 


I promise I will try to start making these posts more interesting. Have any questions for me? Ideas for blogs? This would be very welcome. :] For now you get a song and a quote.


When I'm With You - J.J. Heller


"Some people feel guilty about their anxieties and regard them as a defect of faith but they are afflictions, not sins. Like all afflictions, they are, if we can so take them, our share in the passion of Christ." - C.S. Lewis

Oh the Thinks!

Bombay Bicycle Club - Ivy & Gold

Today is definitely just going to be a casual, sporadic post. I was a bit sick today. I think I had a fever. Either that, or I was sweating in a cold room for no reason.

I found this band per the request of a delightful girl named Melinda. She is wonderful, poised,  intelligent, and has a YouTube channel worth watching. I think she'll be reading this post, but if you go to her channel, you should tell her I say "hello." :]

On a post a few days ago, I absolutely loved Paige's comment:
"If you ever become a popstar, you can pull a Ke$ha and be &llyson."


THIS GOT ME SO EXCITED. Honestly, I want all my username's everywhere to be this. Unfortunately, very few allow an ampersand to be a username. My next banner will definitely have this on it, though. Paige, you genius.


You're all so lovely. I really really wish that Blogger had a better way of comment replying/notifications. Sometimes it's easier to reply in the comments, but then you don't know if they'll ever read them. So then I try referring to it in my next blog, but that gets long and silly, too, because it has nothing to do with the 
topic at hand.

Yesterday Lex talked about the Munchkins from Wizard of Oz, and how she hates their butts. Just kidding. Kind of. Anyway, it got me interested, so I looked for munchkin videos on YouTube and came upon this gem. It's an interview of them, 70 years later. They are adorable. One of them had a quote that made me ridiculously happy. This tiny 90 year old woman was asked the question, "You don't feel especially sad to be 90, do you?" To which she replied, "No, I'm having a great time! I don't mind it at all! I thought it would be terrible, but it isn't." If this doesn't make you smile, I don't know what will.

That's all for today! xx

How to Make the Most Out of Your Tea Drinking Experience: A Guide

Step 1: Be sick, tired, and slightly dehydrated. 

These three elements will greatly enhance the enjoyment you receive out of your cup of tea.

Step 2: Make your tea while listening to this song.

Getting in the mood is always a wise choice, and by listening to this song, you will have unrealistic expectations for where your cup of tea could lead you in life with your nonexistent, tea loving dream boy!

Step 3: Drink your tea alone, eyes closed, and sitting indian style while listening to this song.

Congratulations! Now that you are sick, tired, slightly dehydrated, and saddened with unrealistic expectations, you are now in prime condition to thoroughly enjoy your cup of tea. This song will help you remain in the mood. 

You may have expected an explanation about which teas to make or how best to prepare them. Well, my friends, you are wrong. It is all about setting the mood, silly. If you need to know how to make tea, Charlie has so graciously already told us. (Seriously, I hadn't watched that video in ages, so it made me laugh quite hard again. You should go watch it.)

Contrary to the sarcastic tone this post displays, I do love tea. I want you to like tea, too. I bet I could get you to love tea. Most people who don't like tea have only had crappy store bought tea bags. I want you to like tea.

Stop by Teavana in the mall and have their samples. Then you'll like tea. (Hint: If you go at an hour that isn't as busy, they don't have employees working the sample station, and you can get away with refills much easier.)

Tell me if you don't like tea, and I will give you suggestions. :]

What kind of tea is your favorite? My favorites, as of late, are anything loose leaf Rooibus (especially fruity ones), loose leaf Oolong, and any mint tea bags. 

Thanks for being so nice about my first vlog, and I hope you have a great day. :]

V..Vl...Vlog?

In which Allyson talks about not being able to vlog, Justin Timberlake, nutella, and burnt toast. 

Nice to meet you, and I am sorry in advance. Sigh.

Ode to the Ampersand

"My dearsest Ampersand,

I admire gazing at your beautiful curves flawlessly adorning the top row of my keyboard. 

You adjoin my thoughts with poise and elegance." 

This a poem I wrote a long time ago. I just found it today. See, guys, I really love ampersands. I often browse Etsy for ampersand stuff. You know how women have that one thing that they claim to love, so then everyone gives them a variation of that item for every birthday/holiday? Well, I want to be that person you think of when you see an ampersand. I really love them.  I think this is stems from my interest in clean, neat typography. It's so pretty, guys. 

Sigh. Why couldn't I be interested in something legitimately fascinating, like... mitosis. 

(Thus begins my desperate attempt to convince you this is legit.)

It has an interesting history! 

It's.... versatile!

 

...want

Okay. I'm going to go now. I have successfully convinced myself I will be a boring old lady wearing crazy clothes, writing crazy blogs, and collecting conjunctions. 

Today is awesome because... it reached over 70 degress, we found a new coffee shop, and the Brewers game is on tv in Minnesota. :]

Vastness

I think I'm scared of vast, empty things. And being in them for extended periods of time.

Like, looking out into an ocean is as terrifying to me as it is fascinating.

One time, when I was a kid, we watched an IMAX movie about someone climbing Mt. Everest and it freaked me out so much. My parents (hi, Mom!) bought the soundtrack and would play it during dinner sometimes. I would get sad, but I couldn't tell them why, because I didn't really get it. But all I wanted to do was go to my room and definitely not listen to that soundtrack.

One time I cried during an episode of Sesame Street because something made me think of heaven. And heaven made me think of forever. And being somewhere forever freaked me out. So I cried.

Tonight we watched 127 Hours and I never ever want to watch it again.

I mean, it was very well done. But every time I thought about it, I would just start freaking myself out about everything. Life. Vastness.

It's not death. Death doesn't scare me.

I have this friend. I write him e-mails a lot late at night. Sometimes, they are very much not coherent. Sometimes they say things that spill out of my brain before I even get a chance to think about them. In some cases, this is a good thing - fresh thoughts. In some cases, this is a very bad thing. But, he is a good friend. He lets me think weird things and say things that make no sense. Sometimes, he even stops making fun of me. Also, he doesn't get afraid when he looks at an ocean. He's alright.*

This blog entry is my first thoughts, and I'm not sure if it will make any more sense in the morning. April might bring a few of these rambles, I hope you let me say a few things that make no sense.

In other news, I officially own a romper. After about a year and a half of trying on rompers that fit me ridiculously poorly, I found one that doesn't look half bad. I feel like this is a milestone of some sort!

The guy cut off his own arm. Like, okay. I'm going to not think about this movie anymore.

xx

*and by alright, I mean he's pretty much my best friend.