Man in the Mirror

Man In the Mirror - Michael Jackson

Album: Bad

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

So, I woke up this morning singing "Dog Days Are Over," but even I can't have my whole soundtrack of 29 be the same song. I just love it so much, and it makes me dance every time...all negative emotions floating away as the music builds. That being said, I was running late this morning from singing in the shower a little too long. Of course, running late for Disneyland is never acceptable, but if there is a reason that even comes close, this is it.

Birthdays are great in a number of ways. My favorites being that I'm always right (if it's the ride I want to ride or the song I just made up that I want to sing), I hear from people I haven't heard from in a year (as well as all the people I love on the same day), and I think it's against the law to not eat every single thing that I want to (it's in the Emily's Law Book of How To Live Life To the Fullest).

It's also a time to start fresh. I preach a lot about "embracing life" and "looking for the positive in others and in every situation" but that's not always easy. And in a place like Disneyland, where there is a lot of line waiting and people crammed into a sort of small area, it can become a challenge to always see the good and to "live every moment" to the fullest. But it is this happy, magical place. So, if I can't do it there, can I do it anywhere? The answer is yes.

I love Disneyland, and I had a great day! I spent it with one of my best friends, we talked, we laughed, we ate. I had a series of adrenaline rushes (which are my favorite), and I ended the night by wishing on a hundred shooting star fireworks over the Magic Castle. But I also realized that I don't need all that production to have a great day. (Although, the best moment of the day was defnitely when Natalie and I went on Splash Mountain, much to her dismay, and, though we both ended up soaked, I definitely got the brunt of it. It was also the most terrifying moment since when you go over that waterfall, you are plunging head first into a bottomless abyss of water screaming at the top of your lungs. There's a reason I don't sit in front. And thank you, Mom, for your last piece of advice. KEEP YOUR MOUTH CLOSED. Which I remembered at the last second, or else I would still be waterlogged.)

And in that one brief moment of screaming and laughing and almost crying out of terror, it came so clear why I crave moments like this. My adrenaline rushes come in new experiences, great conversations, frequent fits of laughter, and making someone else's day a little brighter just by a kind word or solid piece of advice (and more if I have the capability). The excitement of life comes in the small moments, we just have to be aware enough not to miss them. To not close our eyes (unless the water is about to blind you...cause that could be bad). Towards the end of the day Natalie and I saw Captain Eo (which I kept calling Captain Emo by mistake), and, even though it's not actually in the movie, I walked out singing Man in the Mirror. It was instantly the theme of the day because, surrounded by all of these people that are so different from me, I understood that I can either choose to see the beauty in them, try to understand who they are and what they need, or I can judge what I see on the surface. All of the things that I love about life, we all deserve, and we all can have. I know I can't create a perfect moment or a perfect day. I can't make people say or be what they're not and don't want to be.

But I can live fearlessly. I can choose who I spend time with and where I go, what I do, what my focus is. I can take risks and smile at strangers and offer a helping hand when someone needs it. I can dance in the middle of a line at Disneyland to a song only I can hear, and I can choose to sit at the front of the ride even though it terrifies me endlessly because the unhibited laughter that comes afterwards would never be possible any other way. But only I can do those things...and hope that someone else might join me...maybe even a crowd.

XOXO
-EBG