Right now I'm listening to podcast by my cousin. She's eleven years older than me so we've never been very close; we saw each other a few times a year (Christmas, 4th of July, weddings, and baby showers) and I knew she was the only other member of my family that could be called "alternative," (by that I mean she was into things that most people in Ohio were not even aware of). I left the area when I turned eighteen; she had kids and went to school and stayed in the area. A couple years ago she published a book.
It's amazing to me that someone I know has published a book. I know a lot of people who have written zines or who show art or make crafts that are sold around town, but not one other person who's done something like this. She recently found me on facebook and said that she thinks we have a lot of things in common so today I googled her name and found youtube videos of her burlesque performance, profiles of her on half a dozen pages, her blog, and her podcast. She's right, I think, that we have a lot in common.
It's strange that you never think of these random family members as having their own lives. You know they go to work and have relationships, but it's always a superficial kind of image. I rarely think about them having friends or personal thoughts and beliefs that aren't just middle-of-the-road. I don't think about their idiosyncracies or fetishes or interests beyond what little I know of them as my family members. They're all very nice, but I never considered that any of them could have much in common with me. Now that I'm a little older, I think it would be nice to be close to my cousins.
I have been thinking about moving back home for awhile. I probably won't until I graduate from school, and that won't be for another year at least, but I feel there is a lot more going on there than I thought there was when I was growing up. I'd like to experience it and contribute to it. I'd like to just be there in Ohio as a role model for kids who are stuck there right now so they don't have to founder like I did for a long time. I remember some of the people I knew who turned me on to things it would have taken me years to discover on my own and I realize that there were almost no women, it was all guys. As much as they helped me along, it would have been nice to have a female role model.
It's amazing to me that someone I know has published a book. I know a lot of people who have written zines or who show art or make crafts that are sold around town, but not one other person who's done something like this. She recently found me on facebook and said that she thinks we have a lot of things in common so today I googled her name and found youtube videos of her burlesque performance, profiles of her on half a dozen pages, her blog, and her podcast. She's right, I think, that we have a lot in common.
It's strange that you never think of these random family members as having their own lives. You know they go to work and have relationships, but it's always a superficial kind of image. I rarely think about them having friends or personal thoughts and beliefs that aren't just middle-of-the-road. I don't think about their idiosyncracies or fetishes or interests beyond what little I know of them as my family members. They're all very nice, but I never considered that any of them could have much in common with me. Now that I'm a little older, I think it would be nice to be close to my cousins.
I have been thinking about moving back home for awhile. I probably won't until I graduate from school, and that won't be for another year at least, but I feel there is a lot more going on there than I thought there was when I was growing up. I'd like to experience it and contribute to it. I'd like to just be there in Ohio as a role model for kids who are stuck there right now so they don't have to founder like I did for a long time. I remember some of the people I knew who turned me on to things it would have taken me years to discover on my own and I realize that there were almost no women, it was all guys. As much as they helped me along, it would have been nice to have a female role model.
Comments
Post a Comment