I Too, Have a Dream

I am overwhelmed by the respect I have for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man who fought so hard for freedom through nonviolence. A man who had the belief and the drive and the heart to lead our country and inspire others to insist on their personal freedom. A man who risked his own life for the good of everyone else. 

For these reasons, I make it a point every year to watch the "I Have a Dream" speech. Not only is Dr. MLK Jr. a powerful orator, but his speech at Lincoln Memorial serves as a sharp reminder of what has been and what can still be. This year, thanks to Jessica, I've added the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" to this tradition.

I have never personally experienced such severe discrimination and injustice; it pains me to know that people did and still do. I've had my fair share of racist remarks, but never violence and never the absence of freedom.

If you don't recall the injustices from the tumultuous 1960s, here is an excerpt from the "Letter From a Birmingham Jail" that explains why we cannot wait to forge change:

"Perhaps it is easy for those have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, "Wait." But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policement curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of the affluent society; when you suddently find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you explain to your six year old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see the ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people, when you have to conduct an answer for a five year old son who is asking: "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?"; when you take a cross country drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored"; when your first name becomes "nigger," your middle name becomes "boy" (however old you are) and your las name becomes "John," and your wife and mother are never given the respected title "Mrs."; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of "nobodiness"--then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait."

We have made great strides in this country, but there is no way we are close to being finished.

I have a dream, that one day, everyone will have the right to be married, based on their love for another person, not on their sexual orientation. I have a dream that no one will be driven to suicide by the hatred and ridicule of others. I have a dream that racial profiling and hate crimes will cease to exist. I have a dream, that one day no one will have to worry about whether or not they get to eat. I have a dream that no person will be sexually trafficked and forced to live a dark life against their will. I have a dream that the words rape, school shooting, war and terrorist will be obsolete from our vocabularies. I too, have a dream.

Martin Luther King, Jr. died for what he believed in and thought you weren't living if you weren't willing to die for anything. His son explains that if he was alive today, he would have fought for the rights of women, gay people, immigrants, trade unions and anyone who was oppressed. I have thought, "If I was alive then, I would have marched on Washington with them." But I'm alive today, so I need to do something, or my complacency will be worse than someone who is outright against equality. What are you willing to die for? How will you change the course of our history?

And here we have a Blogosaurus...

Oh boy, oh boy! It's already been a week since I last posted and that seems incredible to me. I was on a blog-heavy-kick for a bit there and now I've lulled myself to a groggy-bloggy-state. This week wasn't even that crazy chock-full of stuff, I guess I just got lost in work and the other blog. 

It's crossed my mind on more than one occasion that I should merge my blogs. I've contemplated it because it can be a bit of work to write for two outlets instead of one. Some of you may read both blogs, in which case, it may seem like I write too much and you don't really want to know what I did last weekend, for the fifth time! Still, I feel like they're too different to fuse and the whole would be less than the sum of parts. 

To explain myself a bit:

I started this blog because I love to write things down. I've journaled since forever ago, I make lists about lists, I wrote for the Youth In Government newspaper, for my high school newspaper and was the Key Club publicist (meaning I created newsletters and the organization's scrapbook) when I was in Senior High. (Come to think of it, I was also on the yearbook staff for many years, which explains my love for photo collages...) [Overachiever, ugh]

I decided to start my other blog for a few reasons. I love to piece things together. (See paragraph above). At first, I thought I would start with outfits which I learned late in life were not "owfits." I love dressing up and expressing creativity in what I wear. Since I don't find a ton of time to photograph said outfits, I find other things that relate that I love. Writing about it all helps me expand my style horizons and hopefully inspire someone, somewhere, to do the same. Besides that, I always found myself emailing and texting my friends with songs and bands they had to hear. And when I was on the receiving end of that "Omigoshyouwon'tbelieveyourears" kind of message, I was more than happy to have found something new. Concerts are my lifeblood. I've been to over 100 and you might think I'm crazy, and I am. Crazy in love. Harharhar. But seriously, my life would be much less fulfilling without music. (And live shows are usually amazing!)

So for now, I gotta keep 'em separated. Here I would like to continue to write about crafting, tv shows and movies, being social, expressing gratitude and finding little bits of happy in everything. I also want to take on heftier issues like living and dying, helping people in need, why we do the things we do, racism and intolerance and all of those things that could be considered sort of dark, depending on your vantage point.

So I guess this post is the answer to the question in my head, "why do you spend all that time blogging?" I'm just documenting my journey of self-creation. I believe that we're never finished creating ourselves. Our lives are this enormous, ever-changing canvas that we keep adding strokes or splashes or buckets of paint to. Each of these blogs and posts and moments in time? The colors on my palette. 


And now, the weekend...

What my weekend will probably consist of:

One: Portlandia. If you haven't seen this show yet, then Netflix, now. I'd like to thank the brother-in-law and the boyfriend for getting me hooked. The second season premiers tonight on IFC. If you have seen it, then you better drop your plans and get to your television set. And you probably have that song stuck in your head like I do, "The dream of the 90s is alive in Portland..." Prepare to be amused and disturbed and laugh your pants off.

Two: Ryan Gosling. I recently watched Crazy, Stupid, Love. and liked it. And then I saw something about needing to watch Blue Valentine. So here is this:

That's all. Have a great weekend you crazy kids!

I Was Dreaming of a White Christmas

Blink. The holidays are gone and as a result, I am Jennifer McMopester. This year was much different than before, as I spent the holiday up North with my boyfran’s family instead of my own. There were a few issues with this: not being with my family on a holiday I’ve never spent away from them, not being there for the baby nephew’s first Christmas, and not being in my own house for the holiday. But the family was divided this year and the boyfran’s family had big plans for up North and so kindly invited me, so I took the leap and agreed. It was one of the most magical Christmases ever because it felt oh-so-Minnesotan and I got to do so many fun things!

{The hunchback of Rush City}

Last Thursday, most of the group was already up North but I had a nice dinner with my family before the boyfran and I went to a little Ugly Christmas Sweater shindig at Bulldog St. Paul. It was pretty fun and afterwards I headed home to stay up until 3am packing. Three hours later, the boyfran and I were out the door and on the road to watch the beautiful sunset. We only made one stop in Rush City, to see the largest walleye in the world, of course. Paul Bunyan was the brave fisherman on this one. (So dorky!)

We were warmly welcomed at our beachfront property in Lutsen, MN on Friday morning. I had never seen waves crashing into a shoreline blanketed in snow before. Soon after, I got a massage at the WatersMeet Spa, took a trip to boyfran’s brother’s cozy cabin in Grand Marais, then headed out to the community center for ice skating and hockey. 

The boys raced and played tag, while I honed my stopping and backwards skating skills. I may have ran my head straight into a hockey net at one point, but all was cured with a Peppermint Patty at a local bar with an awesome bartender, Whiskey Dick. Seriously, his name was Dick Winzer, kind of like Windsor. Like Whiskey. Get it? We ended the night with dinner and Cribbage and all was well in the world.

On Saturday, we trucked out to Caribou Lake and hauled our stuff on the boyfran’s three-wheeler. We played catch, I learned to punt, and we drank ice cold beer to keep us warm. Hmm? Yeah. I even got enough courage to hang onto the back of the three-wheeler while being towed on a snowboard. I tumbled down three times, but those falls were worth the fun. The scenery on the lake was intensely beautiful. Woodsy cabins dotted the shoreline and tall pines and bare birches skirted the entire perimeter. It was the most beautiful football field I have ever played on! Every once in a while, I’d stop, take a breath, and stare at the shoreline in disbelief of its beauty. 

Afterwards was the same drill: Cribbage, drinks, laughter. Only this time, we got to open presents! In my family I had never opened presents before Christmas morning so this was a treeeeeeeeeeat. Boyfriend Zeb and I got each other snow shoes – I can’t wait to bust those out! (Snow, darn it!)

On Christmas morning, we had a yummy breakfast prepared by boyfran’s mama. We had a small photo sesh for the other blog, then geared up to go sledding. When we arrived at Lutsen Resort to pick up some sleds, boyfran’s brother Luke decided to take us on a mini hike. The hike was breathtaking and a little bit scary, as we scaled steep inclines covered in slippery snow. Again, the green conifers against the snow were so strikingly beautiful I was practically gaping at every new view. We saw otter tracks along the water too! So cuuuute! 

After our hike, we drove over to the golf course and found a hill to slide down. The hill itself wasn’t all that intimidating, but a river disguised by a bed of snow awaited us at the bottom. Once we got to the bottom of the hill, we quickly had to roll off before plunging into the depths of the river. We had a Christmas dinner at the lodge and slothily made our way home for more Cribbage, Sequence, and Reggae music.

On Monday, we found our water pressure had officially died and instead of enjoying a slow morning with yummy breakfast, we bolted out of the place like something that bolts out of a place fast. 

We made our way slowly back to the cities, stopping at Beaver Bay for the giant Adirondack chairs, Split Rock Lighthouse for a view of the lake, and Duluth for a meal at Fitger’s Brewhouse and some shopping. I have a new quest to go see all of the odd statues and such in Minnesota, and everywhere.

I know this post is ridiculously long, but it’s basically a journal, so deal with it! Trips in confined quarters inevitably make you closer to the people you share them with. I feel closer to the boyfran’s family, if that was even possible, and I am happier for it. Sure, they are a quirky, sometimes gross (three boys, c’mon) bunch, but they’re pretty awesome and extremely welcoming. They got it from their mama!

So now I have all these amazing memories, items checked off of my winter to-do list, and a slew of photos I can’t even begin to sift through. It’s great to recognize the beauty in life, but when you take photos of each of those moments, well, you have hundreds of photos. Oh well, better than none! Okay, now back to our regularly-scheduled programming.

  

Resolve to do something better.

Happy 2012! The New Year seems to always go hand-in-hand with resolutions and new beginnings. I like Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project idea of always having resolutions. Ever since I read her book for book club last summer, I have had a Resolutions Chart. This chart is something I kept up every day at first, then my dedication waned and waxed and waned. It's hard to keep resolutions every day, but it's sure worth a try.

I had daily, weekly, monthly, and annual resolutions. The daily ones included drinking 8 glasses of water a day and taking my contacts out by 10pm. The weekly and monthly resolutions included hanging out with each group of people I like to hang out with (yes, I had a spreadsheet for hanging out with friends), exercising five times per week, spending time with JUST the boyfran and not in a big group, reading a book every month, scrapbooking, etc.

This year will be more of the same, with a few minor adjustments. My broad resolutions go a little something like this:

Easier said than done. I will be one of those people who is always drinking water.

You know, this is the toughest battle for me. There's just so much to do in awake life. But no sleep makes for a very tired and probably less productive awake life.

Hahahaha. No, but really.

I had a goal of running 300 miles this year but made it just short of 200. This year I will stick to my goals and be healthy for the sake of being healthy. Oh, and my stinky sister convinced me to sign up for the Minneapolis Half Marathon in June 2012, so there's that.

I want to put intention in my thoughts, words, and actions. 

There is always, always room for improvement and growth and education. I am continuously learning at work, in my social groups, and even on this little blog. It's amazing what having a passion for something can do to how much you know about it.

My life is so full of things and thoughts and tasks and events. I need to break it down and breathe.

In 2011, I achieved my goal of donating money or time every month. This year I plan to do more of the same, with a little more focus on the volunteering portion of it.

Driving up North makes me wonder why I don't do more exploring in my own state. I'm always dreaming of globe trotting, but I want to state trot as well! 

This has been surprisingly easy for me in 2011. If you know my past, you know that this was not always the case. For some reason, I rarely find time to be discontent. Maybe that reason is you. Maybe that reason is me. Maybe that reason is my quest for happiness.

All in all, this is what I want to do: Be great every day. 

Happy New Year everyone, make it a good one!