hats

If this blog was my Grandma Eunice, it would say, "Well, well, if it isn't Liz! It's been a long time." I feel the need to apologize for not penning (er, typing) my thoughts as of late, but then again, I'm fairly certain that no one except me reads this. Oh well. I forgive you, self.

Anyhoo, we're on the week after Spring Break, which really just gives me time to mull over things that happened (or didn't happen) over break. I spent my 10 sublime days off from this fine [mental] institution (just kidding...) in Memphis: home of Elvis, the only BBQ that I will deem "BBQ," and yours truly. The glorious thing about going home for Spring Break is knowing your friends are doing way more fabulous things in places with infinite sunshine and alcohol (sorry for the bitter sarcasm tonight, I just can't help). Okay, so it really wasn't THAT bad going home for break, but it really did suck a little that I had other options and was forced to be "good daughter Liz" and do exactly what my parents wanted me to do. While my parents took off for 6 days to that place with infinite sunshine and alcohol (we'll call it "Florida"), I stayed put with my beautiful, energetic, and kind-of-a-handful dogs, Otto and Zeus. Confused as to why my parents were trading me my Spring Break? Me too.

This rant has a point. I promise.

Sad to be home alone with my only company the speechless variety, I promptly texted my cousins, Maggie and Sara, letting them know that they could frequent the parent-free zone as often as they wanted over the next days (they too were lucky enough to stay home during Spring Break-- high school SB, that is). A few hours later, they were plopped on my sofa, bored and looking for me to entertain them. Though they were sometimes frustrating, sometimes overstayed their welcome, they were the best part of my Spring Break, because I just got to soak in a part of Liz that is completely honest and true: the Liz ("Cousin" to them) that my family knows.

Ever notice how you act one way around your family, one way around your friends, one way with new people, and many different others, based on the situation? Gosh, I hate that I do it, but I'm pretty sure every human on Earth does it. (If there are humans elsewhere, I'm pretty sure they do it to-- that phrase "every human on Earth" was kind of redundant and stupid, sorry. (also sorry for this aside, I should have just deleted it. (any rule for how many parenthetical statements you can have inside one another? (in Math, it's fine, as long as you close all of them.)))) Sorry. I told you, feeling snarky tonight. Anyway, I often wonder, of those various personality hats that I wear, which is the most purely me? Is it just one? A combination of a few? Of them all? None? Interesting, isn't it?

I'm still not sure the answer to that question. (The one before "interesting, isn't it?" because clearly I think its interesting or I wouldn't be wasting my time...) But I can say this much: who I am when I'm home is VERY close to the pure Liz. I guess that's one of my favorite things about going home, because there's no pressure to be cool or impress any one. These people have seen me since diapers-- my uncle still calls me "Weezy" sometimes, a nickname not derived from the rapper, but after my toddler tendency to breathe so heavily while I was walking that my parents could hear me coming down the hall before they could see me.

Back to my cousins. Because I am this "honest Liz" while home, I know that everything I tell my cousins is in its purest form of sincerity too-- I try to avoid the "sage, college advice," mostly because its crap, but also because I hate when people talk down to me like they know everything, especially when they've only been doing something I haven't for a small amount of time. So I got to share my truthful opinions about choosing colleges, majors, whether or not to drink. And sometimes I surprised myself with my opinions. Best revelation: I have never--not once--done something my parents didn't want me to do. Okay, so when I was 8 I stuck my tongue out at my mom and got my mouth washed out with soap. I'm not talking about those kinds of actions. But all of my major (and minor) decisions have been made to favor what my parents thought was right.


Okay, fine, I did vote for (and still support fully) Barack Obama, which my parents viewed negatively. But STILL. I am dying to be my own person and rebel.

The pure fact that I was home, dogsitting, while my parents relaxed in the Keys is prime example of how I have not put this new discovery into action. But one day, I am going to rock their world. Its coming.

Promise.