Prom Pose with Your Pinot

People love taking couple pics. I mean, they dig it in a big sort of way. ‘Hey, can you take a picture of Mr. Wonderful and me by this tree? And now this flower? And then this door? Oh! This trash bag will look so edgy on Pinterest. Just one more?’  Of course I would love to capture the butterflies and rainbows your love is vomiting out for the camera right now. That sounds way better than enjoying this glass of Cab Sav I’ve been spending some quality time with. 

Apparently ‘single’ is now synonymous with ‘photographer’.

Since the beginning of the interwebs, girls have gotten a thrill of showing off their man and adventures through photography. Followers of these sagas get an in depth look into the life and love of many a well-captured couple. While a good photo can earn you ‘likes’ and ‘pins’ galore, a bad one can bode ominous for future progeny. 

The pity starts for the singles in the group right around picture round number two. After each couple has adequately represented their happiness and general trendiness, they always turn to me with a ‘let’s get a picture of you and….” No worries, World, I have an answer: my drink.

Couple 1. Couple 2. Me and my latte. Couples 3, 4 and 5. Me and my sweet tea. Couples 1,3,5 and 9. Me and my wine.  

Luckily for me, beverages are satisfying and never look like they’re constipated.

Though singlehood has woes of its own, I’m beginning to think I’ve got it easy. Listening to countless women (and bro’s) recount their relationship troubles tells me a few things: 1. We all need to get our lives together and stop being so selfish 2. If everyone were just dating their sweet tea we wouldn’t have this problem. We’d all be fatties and our population would take a dramatic plunge, but on the bright side you wouldn’t spend Friday night crying about how it is now 8:03 and you boyfriend told you he was going to call you at 7:45. He clearly hates you and is going to break up with you because he has found someone else who is skinnier and tells better that’s what she said jokes.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then my Facebook has said almost 1.5 million things about me, without even opening my mouth. Lately, it has said 'This girl is incredibly parched on the reg.' Dehydration aside: watch your crop because you may have an audience.

Pictures are meant to capture moments, yet we each need a minute to compose ourselves before the shutter clicks, transforming our worried, pre-occupied, misplaced hope into the smile we assume is socially acceptable. Live life like the camera is always on you. What do you want your 1000 words to be?  

My Mom Taught Me to Raise My Hand

My mom taught me to raise my hand. 

My mom taught me to raise my hand because I am capable. Not taught to wait on the world to notice my aptitudes, I was told to be confident in my abilities, to be sure of what I know, and able to admit what I don’t. In the classroom, work place, sports arena or grocery store, she led by the example of leading rather than following, of doing rather than watching. 

My mom taught me to raise my hand in the face of injustice. If you see it and do nothing, she would say, you are nothing more than part of the problem. She repeated, again and again, that I was called by God to be a light in this world. An example when none are present. A living example of the love of Christ in a world that is dying.

My mom taught me to raise my hands in praise because no matter how hard it is, you have something to be thankful for.

My mom taught me to raise my hand to own up to my mistakes. Lying received the worst punishment in my home. It was better to admit your guilt, rather than hiding behind untruthfulness. You are going to make mistakes, she said, but it is what you do with those mistakes that separate the leaders from the weak. You are not weak. You are not a liar. You will grow and you will learn, but you will not hide. 

My mom taught me to raise my hand because asking a question is better than faking an answer. Always an advocate of learning, she taught us that when you stop growing, you become obsolete. The world is too big to ever stop wondering. We should be seekers because out there on the edge, on the cusp of the world? That is where true adventure lays waiting on those brave enough to find it. Hidden inside those nuggets of knowledge are the moments that are worth fighting for. They are the moments that people go their entire lives missing, wondering what is lacking, and never having to courage to go in search of it. To live life to the fullest, you must search for experiences because life doesn’t find you, you have to find it. 

My mom taught me to love. My mom taught me to strive. My mom taught me to hope. My mom taught me to persevere. My mom taught me to live.

My mom taught me.