#MondayWithAimée
A few days ago, I went to a concert. It was the second time in six months I had seen this show, yet I was still in awe. It was a music show, but the man – one of my favourite Quebecois artists – talks and jokes a lot as well. It is simply a brilliant, astonishing, dreamy and creative piece of art. It brought me to tears, made me laugh, filled my eyes with stars. I love him and what he does. In his show, he says that it might be the only place where you can be around dozens of strangers, in the dark, and be able to be totally free. It’s true, nobody sees you. You can react however you want. He says you can cry, smile, laugh, frown, act like a 4-years-old, no one will notice or care. It is one of the rare moments in your life you can be free of the mask you need to put on everywhere else.
It made me think. Why am I keeping this mask? For whom am I keeping this mask? Why can’t I just act exactly how I want to? There are rules for a society to function, yes, but if what you do doesn’t disturb the peace and safety of others, why not?
What I mean is that in the small things, you should be free of being who you want to be. If you are, the big things will be so uniquely you, too. Why hold yourself back from smiling to strangers on the bus? I used to smile to everyone I walked across on the street. When I got to college (cegep in my country), I was so afraid of smiling to people that I stopped this kind attitude. Why did I? Why did the moody people affect me? I don’t want to be shy about it. I am learning to smile freely when the song makes me giggle, to dance when I’m waiting for the bus, to laugh aloud.
All those things I’m refraining myself from doing just because I fear how people might look at me, I want to learn to do again. I want to wear my hair in little braids that make me look like a 4-year-old, I want to paint my nails five different colours just because my niece loves it. I want to giggle, to dance, to smile, to laugh, to be kind, to look at life with the same sparkles in my eyes as I looked at this singer being so totally and openly himself that night.
Try and remember a time when you felt truly free and happy. Chances are, you were giggling, and your heartfelt like it could burst from happiness. I wish to live my life like a 4-year-old in my tastes, in my amazement at life, in my complete unawareness and lack of care about how others perceive me. Who are they to say you’re uncool? Why are we giving so much importance to the opinions of people who do not matter? Just let people enjoy their stuff and enjoy yours. I’m already too old to be too cool to enjoy life. I want to unapologetically love the things I love.
There is one thing I really enjoy doing when I am either feeling unmotivated and need to activate or when I have the whole morning for myself and want to chill out.
I imagine my life as if it was the intro of a movie.
Do you know what I’m talking about? In a lot of movies, especially the romcoms, there is that little intro of the main character, usually with some joyful music over it. You see the character getting ready for work, eating a bagel while reading the newspaper, you see them catching the metro, you see their routine. Sometimes, it’s meant to show you how organized and disciplined that character is, sometimes it’s meant to show you how rushed and overwhelmed they are. My point still stands in both ways: romanticize your life.
In movies, everything is romanticized to the point that some things are actually not possible anymore in real life. Or they’re just tiny snippets, but we take it as the big picture. No one always drinks a smoothie every morning of the week and never settles down for a sad piece of toast because they’re in a rush. And even in movies, this sad piece of toast is romanticized.
What I mean is that you need to start living as if you were a character in a movie. Start making the little good things seem like big good things. Notice how great your tea tastes like, take the time to choose your clothes like you are in the movie Clueless and there’s a montage of you picking your outfit, prepare your breakfast and dance over some good movies in your oversized PJs. Take a bubble bath and giggle at the big bubbles getting out of the tub.
Start seeing and appreciating the details in your life and you’ll find new joy. Above all that, stop caring about other people’s opinions. Your joy and freedom might make them want to stop being so cool and uptight and start living a little.
Two weeks ago, I promised you an article on target audience so stay tuned, it might come sooner than you expect! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy my cowriters’ articles! Likes and comments make my heart sparkle 🙂
-Aimée.
This is soooo good!!!! So effin good! Wow!
you sweeeeet <3
wow!