On Faces

The interesting thing about faces is that they always tell you the truth of a given person, especially as that person ages. When a person smiles or laughs a lot, you can see it in the way their face has wrinkled, settled, or changed over the years. The same thing happens when a person does nothing but pout, and frown, and complain. The effect is most obvious in older people, but you can see it in young people as well.

I've known a lot of people that claim to be super positive, happy beings but aren't really that way in practice. If you didn't know any better from actually observing the realities of the person's life, you could look at the permanent pout burned into their face and see the truth. Same thing goes for people that may appear sour and depressive on the surface, but have faces that give away the fact that they actually laugh and smile a lot.

I'm realizing that I might be the second sort. Outwardly, I complain and bitch a lot. I would even say I see and describe myself as a brooding, pensive person for the most part. But when I step back and really admit how much I laugh and how often I smile -- how often I ultimately wind up seeing the best in something -- I realize that isn't actually accurate. And my face gives me away. I have the face of a happy, pleasant, inquisitive person even if I don't always feel like one.

Writing Lab: Changing, Evolving, Regrouping

Prompt: "Some people find it difficult to rebalance their lives after making a big shift. Do you welcome change or struggle with it?"

I don't think that anyone really likes change. My own personal feelings about it honestly depend on what kind of change we're talking about. Obviously, I don't like being forced out of a situation that was comfortable or beneficial for me, but if we're talking about a situation that had been stagnant or unpleasant for a long time, then I welcome change with open arms. I'm not one of those people that prefers the devil I know. If something sucks, I will always be willing to take a chance in the hopes that it could get better. 

I've even been that way when it comes to major life changes. For instance, I was slowly suffocating to death in my failed marriage years ago, so I was happy to reach a place where I felt like I could ask for a divorce, move out, and eventually start a relationship with someone new (not necessarily in that order, but that's a story for another day). Facing a change as monumental as divorce was super scary. It obviously would have been much easier to just stay where I was and continue with the person I was already with, but the possibility of one day being in a relationship that would be everything I wanted and needed it to be instead was motivation enough to see things through. I figured that even if things didn't go so well, I'd at least be able to say I tried instead of wondering "what if" and continuing to settle for a situation that made me unhappy.

Writing Lab: On Relationships and Technology

Prompt: "How has technology enhanced or detracted from your relationships?"

I've never been a member of the camp that thinks technology is nothing but negative when it comes to human relationships. All technology does is give people more options. What is done with those options depends entirely on the person. Some people do use it to tune out and disengage from the world around them. However, there are plenty of others that take advantage of the opportunity to be more connected, as opposed to less. I consider myself to be the latter.

I've always been a loner, as well as extremely introverted. While I have always enjoyed having at least a few close personal relationships with other people, I have never enjoyed what has to happen in order to obtain those relationships. I hate being in the physical presence of people I don't know and I loathe making small talk, attending social events, and pretty much everything else that people used to have to do if they wanted to make friends or find people to date.