And I’m not talking about where you grew up… I am referring to that nerdy little self deep inside you. Ya know, that little kid we were at 6, 10, maybe even 13. We had our mounds of books on our favorite subject, a weird collection of stamps or erasers (*might* have been me, I’ll never tell) or we when we ventured outside to defend the house against pretend wildabeasts.
The older I get, the more I go back to my roots. Those little things I fell in love with as a kid, those little things I collected, those things that ended up having a BIG impact on who I am today.
I know, I know, this sounds cliche & kinda lame. But I’m serious. There are two things that I picked up loving as a child that still have an impact on who I am today. Any guesses??
Space. Music.
Did you guess correctly?
Let’s chat about space first.
I didn’t grow up watching Star Trek on TV. Nor did I watch Star Wars every chance I could. But, ask my parents, my books were about either animals or space. You recall that mound of books I was referring to, yeah…they were my space/astronaut/cosmic/star books. Now, I never wanted to be an astronaut but had a telescope and was a little star gazer. Thinking of the big, vast space beyond my bubble on Earth always fascinated me, and still does.
Loving space as a mini-me made falling for Star Wars easy. My infatuation with Darth Vader & Kylo Ren is not explainable though, oops #iloveALLthevillians. And I picked up my liking for Star Trek from an ex…one good thing from that relationship. lol. jk. not really. And I do fully understand you typically pick a side with the ‘Star’ — I did not, I love both.
Following that relationship —> up until recently, I have hid it my geek-ness, subconsciously. Society, and the guys I dated, even my own brain told me that it’s not cool to be a geek, to appreciate something different. Until recently.
It’s finally cool to love some of the things I adored when I was six. So bring on the Star Trek movies (and hellllloooo Chris Pine, swoon x1000000), the new Star Wars, and anything Marvel or DC Comics. I joked with my college roomie as we were in line for Star Tours at Hollywood Studios, it is oddly a good thing I didn’t let my full nerd out while we were in college…we never would have gotten ANY work done!
So yes, last Thursday, Sandra and I enjoy seven hours of Star Trek. #noshame The six-year-old me is always excited to see the Enterprise rise above the haze in front of Saturn. *and any excuse to add a pic of Chris Pine…
Next up, music. If you didn’t guess this, you should have known!
Instead of putting me into sports, at eight years old my mom started me with piano lessons. From there my love of music was grounded so deep into my being; so much so that now, music is the quickest way for me reduce my stress & anxiety. I played piano for eight years, taught piano lessons, played the clarinet from 6th to 12th grade, dabbled with the trumpet, was drum major my senior year of high school, and almost went to University of Tampa for music.
While my love for different types of music is vast, the sure way to my heart (& endless humming) is soundtracks. *Cue Darth Vader walking into a room or the opening sound of any Star Trek movie.* I can still listen to a piece and figure out the time signature (and then pretend I’m the conductor). I can always pinpoint what instruments are playing and promptly bug the daylights out of you during a movie…because sometimes I can’t help but hum along.
Unlike my love for space & stars, I never tried to hide my love for music…but I did think it would phase out. Yes, my one regret in life is the fact that I stopped playing a musical instrument. But I am happy to report that music never left. A true love never leaves.
Don’t ignore your roots. Stay true to your own self, and my love for space & music is just that!
But, you catch my drift, live long & prosper.
