‘’Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.’’ I’m going to risk stepping on a few toes by disagreeing with the great Winston Churchill. Attitude is not a little thing; it’s gigantic. It’s the difference between a sunburn, an over-zealously ‘’healthy’’ glow, and a slightly painful lesson. It’s the difference between a boring night stuck at home and a night at home spent catching up on journal entries while munching popcorn. It’s the difference between me last week and me today. It will give my father no end of pleasure to read that statement. I hate admitting it, but his lecture two days ago brought me down to Earth. I wasn’t happy at the time, and at first his little speech made things worse. When he was done, I hung up the phone and cried. I cried for at least a good five minutes. I felt awful, but I washed my face, blew my nose, and got ready for a birthday party I was going to. I pasted on that smile I’ve gotten pretty good at using in times of distress and went to the party, where I gradually cheered up. That was Thursday. Let’s now look at Friday.
I was going to a pool party, and was to meet everyone involved at eight a.m. Despite the previous late night, I dragged myself out of bed, packed a suit and towel, and made it to our meeting spot by 8:05. No one was there, so I walked around the block, enjoying the sunshine. Ten minutes later people began to arrive, but a few quick phone calls verified that not everyone even remembered the activity, so our little group of five set off to drag four more people out of their houses. We walked a great deal, and then crammed onto a sweaty, dirty micro to get to the pool place. None of this bothered me however. My attitude had done a one-eighty since the day before. I played soccer with those kids. I hate soccer, normally, but here I was banging my shins and stubbing my toes in an attempt to get the half-flat ball to our goal. I enjoyed it. Ella Wheeler Wilcox was entirely correct in her statement, ‘’Say you are well, or all is well with you, And God shall hear your words and make them true.’’ My cheerfulness may have started with a fake smile, but somehow in the course of Thursday afternoon it grew into the genuine thing, giving me a beautiful Friday. My host mother said I was ‘’flying’’ in reference to my sunburn and forgotten tennis shoes, but really, my spirit was soaring alongside my head in the clouds.
This is not to say a sunny attitude will automatically evaporate the clouds and plant daisies at your feet. Unfair rules will most likely remain unfair. The underdog might not win. Yesterday’s sunburn will still chafe under any clothes you force upon it. You can really only ask so much of a person. After a point, being human, we snap back. We’re not saints, and our lives aren’t always beautiful, but I’ve learned that we can make things better by how we think, no matter how difficult and painful it might be. It’s like Annette Goodheart said:
’’Just because you're miserable doesn't mean you can't enjoy your life.’’ Life may still be awful, but you can still find humor and the occasional moment of fun in it.
I’m happy today. I’ve been happy all day today. I was happy putting aloe on my poor red back and shoulders. I was happy talking to my family. I was happy going to the store, and happy watching Friends and happy writing this blog. It’s cliché, I know, but I decided to be better on Thursday. I decided that I was going to try harder to be happy, and if I still wasn’t I’d blame my father. Instead, I became happy, and now have to thank him for his awful therapeutic speech that left me with the desire to change. I’ve found my happy. Go find yours. If that’s out of the question, consider changing your attitude, even just to spite me. Maybe you’ll find your happy.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
*The Zoo!*
It was perfect Saturday afternoon. Caity’s real mom was in town from the States, and Melissa knew the microbus that would take us practically to the front gates for only a Boliviano each. We had no excuses to not go to the zoo. We grabbed our cash and cameras and hopped aboard the micro. I for one wasn’t sure what to expect. I had heard good and bad stories of Santa Cruz’s zoo. Many said it is dirty, and the animals are poorly cared for. Others mentioned its size, lack of it really, but didn’t have complaints other than that. I had always pictured elephants and tigers in small cages being poked with soda straws by children and employees alike. It turns out, the zoo was nothing like I expected. In most of it I had a blast, and it appeared like the animals did too. Unfortunately, there were also portions that were depressing. It balanced out, giving me a newfound appreciation for animals.
To start things off light, I’m going to tell a bit about the happy-looking animals. We first saw the birds. Giant cages held parrots, toucans, something called a Harpy Eagle, a large owl, and even a Condor. The toucans were cute, and were dead ringers for the guy on the Fruit Loops box. The Harpy Eagle, owl, and Condor were magnificent, huge, and possessed the tranquility that is unique to birds of prey. I can only imagine how they’d appear in the wild. Even so, the parrots were definitely my favorite of the birds. Brightly-colored, and loud, they quickly caught the eye. One particular breed called, ‘’Hola, hola,’’ as we stopped by their enclosure. I yelled, ‘’Caity, come here!’’ and behind me a parrot quoted, ‘’Caity,’’ in its funny little parrot voice. We loved it. We coerced the parrots to say Erika and Melissa also. As we walked away we heard them talking to some other girls, ‘’Bonita. Mamita.’’ Past the parrots we entered into the bird house, where ironically, I didn’t see many birds. There was however a turtle running wild. I’m not joking, that little guy was speedy! Even better, they had an anteater! It was possible the most bizarre creature I’ve ever seen. I know a trip to the zoo doesn’t exactly count as seeing it wild, but I feel the need to inform the public: that anteater was weird! It had a tail nearly the length of its body, with long black, white and brown hairs hanging down a foot or so. It looked almost feathery. It ran faster than the turtle. Beyond the bird house, our little group enjoyed trying to identify some of the more unusual animals. We also watched pigs and capybaras, llamas and sloths. The sloth is my new favorite animal. Every move it makes is slow and deliberate, but has more flexibility than I could ever pray for. Its face is the picture of calm, and legend has it if you are heartless enough to hold a knife up to it, it will shed tears. In short, the animals that appeared happy made me happy.
Sadly, not all animals are as chill as the sloth. The leopard, pumas, and foxes looked rather miserable. I can’t say I blame them. Each had a concrete and wire cell the size of my bedroom. Their water bowls were green with algae, and the moss on the floor was worn off in well-paced tracks. It hurt to see, and was hard to comprehend. Why in the world did the pigs have meters and meters of space to root and roll in the mud, but the giant cats were confined to cells? I can only be glad that only a few animals were treated like that, and the rest appeared to be living happy lives.
All in all, the trip was a success. I got to hang out with friends, and look at giant anacondas! I didn’t see these animals in the wild, but it was still really really fun. I suppose I had forgotten what zoos could be like, even small ones like this one. True, is was sad to see the captive cats, but on the whole Saturday’s trip to the zoo added up to an experience that will stay with me.
To start things off light, I’m going to tell a bit about the happy-looking animals. We first saw the birds. Giant cages held parrots, toucans, something called a Harpy Eagle, a large owl, and even a Condor. The toucans were cute, and were dead ringers for the guy on the Fruit Loops box. The Harpy Eagle, owl, and Condor were magnificent, huge, and possessed the tranquility that is unique to birds of prey. I can only imagine how they’d appear in the wild. Even so, the parrots were definitely my favorite of the birds. Brightly-colored, and loud, they quickly caught the eye. One particular breed called, ‘’Hola, hola,’’ as we stopped by their enclosure. I yelled, ‘’Caity, come here!’’ and behind me a parrot quoted, ‘’Caity,’’ in its funny little parrot voice. We loved it. We coerced the parrots to say Erika and Melissa also. As we walked away we heard them talking to some other girls, ‘’Bonita. Mamita.’’ Past the parrots we entered into the bird house, where ironically, I didn’t see many birds. There was however a turtle running wild. I’m not joking, that little guy was speedy! Even better, they had an anteater! It was possible the most bizarre creature I’ve ever seen. I know a trip to the zoo doesn’t exactly count as seeing it wild, but I feel the need to inform the public: that anteater was weird! It had a tail nearly the length of its body, with long black, white and brown hairs hanging down a foot or so. It looked almost feathery. It ran faster than the turtle. Beyond the bird house, our little group enjoyed trying to identify some of the more unusual animals. We also watched pigs and capybaras, llamas and sloths. The sloth is my new favorite animal. Every move it makes is slow and deliberate, but has more flexibility than I could ever pray for. Its face is the picture of calm, and legend has it if you are heartless enough to hold a knife up to it, it will shed tears. In short, the animals that appeared happy made me happy.
Sadly, not all animals are as chill as the sloth. The leopard, pumas, and foxes looked rather miserable. I can’t say I blame them. Each had a concrete and wire cell the size of my bedroom. Their water bowls were green with algae, and the moss on the floor was worn off in well-paced tracks. It hurt to see, and was hard to comprehend. Why in the world did the pigs have meters and meters of space to root and roll in the mud, but the giant cats were confined to cells? I can only be glad that only a few animals were treated like that, and the rest appeared to be living happy lives.
All in all, the trip was a success. I got to hang out with friends, and look at giant anacondas! I didn’t see these animals in the wild, but it was still really really fun. I suppose I had forgotten what zoos could be like, even small ones like this one. True, is was sad to see the captive cats, but on the whole Saturday’s trip to the zoo added up to an experience that will stay with me.
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