So...we're different.

I've noticed a slow, evolutionary alignment of my lifestyle and my values. I didn't sit down one day and decide to make what I do match what I believe, but it's sort of happening slowly, almost without me noticing.

I did suddenly become aware of the change when I was trying to explain something about my life to someone at Truman. I thought to myself, "Gosh, this is kinda making me sound like a weirdo." I wanted that person to understand who I am but not feel threatened by our differences. Sometimes that's hard because some of the difficult questions I ask myself, aren't ones that other people want to ask themselves.

One thing I can't even express how deeply I appreciate about Zach is that our values, desires, and dreams match. I'm not the only odd one who thinks living out of a car would be awesome. Or who thinks drinking is a waste of time because it costs too much and makes you feel like crap. Or who thinks weddings are large, unnecessary amounts of hassle.

I'm not trying to paint us as saints because we definitely aren't. I mean, if the booze is free, I have no problem having a few (but I have to stop after two or I'll feel awful the next day). And the truth is, I would rather spend ten bucks buying a pack of Pokemon cards for my little sister, than buying a cocktail. I try to measure how much goodness/joy/love I can milk out of that ten dollars (or ten minutes) and then I pick the larger glass.

So I'm an idealist. The last few paragraphs are the way I live my life when I'm at the top of my game. There are days when, of course, I only feel like laying on the couch for ten minutes and not saving the world. And that's okay. Everybody is doing the best that they can at any given moment. It's important to be gracious with yourself and others.

I want to mention the ring I wear on my left ring finger. Usually a person's wedding ring goes there but for me, it's an old ring I bought at a flea market in South Texas while I was doing an internship with a non-profit organization. I got it because it has the Star of David on it, which is the symbol of the house I was a part of at Graceland. I don't care if people think I'm Jewish. I don't care that it doesn't have a giant blingin' rock on it (in fact, thank goodness it doesn't because I would never want to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on something that would just sit on my finger and not do anything good for the world!). I don't care that it's made from cheap metal and looks like a circle drawn by one of my kindergarten students last fall. I only wear it because it makes me happy. Some days I forget to put it on and that's fine. Zach doesn't even have a ring and that doesn't matter to either of us. No piece of metal or piece of paper legally binding us would make us feel any differently about each other.

Now, before I risk offending every person on the planet, I bid you all adieu.