Wicked Cheap in Boston

You must not lose faith in humanity.  Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. – Mahatma Gandhi

At 2:50pm I was in Kenmore Square, about a mile away and headed towards Copley Square.  I had a massage client later that afternoon near the finish line.  My plan was to walk down Boylston and cheer on the runners as they turned left off of Hereford and could finally, finally, see the end of their 26.2 miles.  I never got there.

I’m not taking poetic license when I say that at that moment I was thinking “I really love this city.”  It was bright and sunny, though still chilly.  The crowds at Kenmore were huge and loud in the best way possible.  There’s a certain reverence for the Marathon here.  Sure, some use the day off as an excuse to start drinking early, but it never seems to get out of hand.  The crowds line the road, cheering for everyone and no one.  It’s family-friendly.  It’s positive. I had out-of-town massage clients on Saturday and I told them that this was my favorite weekend in Boston and I was glad they were here.

After finding out the extent of what had happened, I turned back and headed home through eerily quiet streets.  My phone buzzed with text after text from friends who knew I was going to be in the area making sure I was ok.  I’ve never been so grateful for technology.

I wrote the following on my personal Facebook:

Whenever something horrible has happened elsewhere in the past few years, I’ve wondered how it would feel if it happened in Boston. Sadly, I don’t have to wonder anymore. I’m shocked and sad and wish I could wake up and realize this didn’t happen. I’m choosing to focus on the good I saw while walking home today – strangers helping each other, holding each other, asking “are you ok?”, people coming out of their apartments near Kenmore to offer water and blankets to the runners. I’m grateful that everyone I know is safe, and for all those who contacted me to make sure I was. Be good to each other.

Like so many others are saying today, it’s important to notice the good in people that comes out during a dark time.  I’ve never bought into the idea t that Bostonians are rude and unfriendly and I hope that stereotype can be shut down for good now. Ignore the media’s speculation and rumors about who did this and why.  Don’t lose hope in the good.

I would like to challenge Eleanor Roosevelt.

A quick google search pinpoints her as the source of a quote that you’ll also find in 99% of all graduation speeches.  It’s plastered over Pinterest.  It’s been photoshopped onto landscapes.  It’s downright irksome.

“Do one thing every day that scares you.”

With all do respect, Mrs. Roosevelt…

Really? EVERY day? At what point do you stop searching for terrifying situations and actually start enjoying yourself? I know, I know, it’s a figure of speech and perhaps not meant to be taken literally but still.

With that said, I’d like to present you with my own advice.

“Do something that scares you when the opportunity presents itself.”

As I’ve talked about before, writing this blog has offered me some pretty awesome opportunities. Last week, a scary situation (for me) presented itself in the form of a friendly email. I was contacted by Bristol Studios, a local recording studio and vocal school, and asked if I’d want to try a couple voice lessons.

My first instinct was NOPE. NO THANKS. PLEASE FIND ANOTHER BLOGGER. But then I thought a bit more.  That automatic refusal was just fear.  And if I gave into that, I’d be letting ol’ Eleanor down.

A bit of a background – I studied music for many years.  From piano lessons, a rough year screeching on a violin, and finally finding my niche with flute.  I double majored in college – psychology and music.  And somehow, through all that time, I deftly avoided singing in front of other people.  It’s not that I was tone deaf or that I couldn’t carry a tune.  It just made me extremely uncomfortable. So the thought of having to go into a voice lesson and sing for someone who, you know, knows what they’re doing, was intimidating.

Which, I thought, was the perfect reason to say yes.

So last week I found myself in a room with Ric Poulin, the owner of Bristol, yelling at a wall and actually feeling pretty good about it.

Bristol Voice Studios offers a unique and effective vocal method for all styles of contemporary music not found anywhere else!

Bristol Studios offers half hour voice lessons that take the student through three levels.  The first level focuses on the basics – breathing, vowel shapes, the four basic tones, and building a repertoire and typically lasts 10-12 weeks.  Ric’s confidence comes from 20+ years of experience training singers from the completely inexperienced to those coming across the street from the music-school-you’ve-all-heard-of.  He assured me that truly anyone can learn to sing. It’s all about taking it step by step and having a good foundation in the basics. His method was developed over time and realizing what other vocal teachers weren’t doing.  You won’t find this method anywhere else.  In addition to voice lessons, Bristol offers recording and performance workshops as well as artist development.

I left my first lesson feeling confident.  There was a spring in my step. My dream of learning banjo and becoming the next folk sensation one small step closer to reality.  It’ll happen.

There’s something truly valuable in pushing yourself to do that which scares you.  Not EVERY day, but often enough.  Saying yes when your first inclination is a fearful NOPE can lead to fantastic things.  You may even surprise yourself and like it!

So, what do you say? Wanna try singing?

Bristol Studios will have an offer up on Living Social this Saturday, April 6 – two voice lessons for $59.

Disclosure: I was given two complimentary voice lessons thanks to Bristol but was not otherwise compensated for this post.  All opinions are my own.

So we’re a few weeks into it, how is 2013 treating everyone? For me, it’s shaping up to be a pretty damn good one. I have so much to look forward to.

I’m not usually one for new years resolutions, which is why I never wrote about it.  But for some reason as we were ringing in 2013 I felt a change.  A clean slate.  A door opening to possibilities.  An empty glass of champagne. (I kid.)

I’ve had a series of thoughts “clicking” into place.  Some may call them epiphanies.  I don’t take myself that seriously.  What it boils down to is this:  Even if I am not able to control a situation, I am always able to control how I respond to it.  This is applicable in so many cases – work stress, feeling sick, pangs of jealousy or any unexpected change.  I may write more about this in the future but for now I’ll leave it there and let you know that keeping this idea in mind has put so many issues at ease for me.

I’ve also been thinking a lot about what I enjoy doing and who I really am.  Oh god this is getting too deep QUICK FUNNY ANIMAL PICTURE

Phew ok.

What I’m saying is…you know how at some point in your childhood you make the statement “I love monkeys”, and then until you’re 42 you get a myriad of monkey sculptures, stickers, stationery, etc all due to that one flippant statement because Paul Frank was really big that year (someone please know what that means). And then you realize that you don’t care about monkeys. You’ve never cared about monkeys. You’re drowning in a pit of monkeys.  Or maybe you formed a certain opinion about someone (I’m looking at you, Mariah Carey) just because someone you admired (I’m looking at you, best friend from 3rd grade) didn’t like them and that opinion stuck with you until you realize that All I Want For Christmas Is You is the Greatest Song Ever Written.

The point is, you’re not stuck. I’m not stuck. Ways you thought about the world or yourself are fluid.  You can throw those monkey pajamas away (just kidding, give them to me).  It’s ok to unsubscribe to all those blogs you started following when you wanted to be The Best Blogger Ever and just read the ones that are uplifting and pretty. It’s ok to like things that aren’t cool.  It’s TOTALLY ok to not be cynical about everything (or anything).

A lot of this for me has to do with blogging.  There were those halcyon days of last summer when I was posting nearly every day.  And it was great. It was fun. And then it wasn’t.  And then I felt like I had yet another job.  So I had to step back a bit and realize what I really wanted out of blogging.  I’ll let you in on some secrets: I never totally understood SEO and I don’t care to learn.  I haven’t looked at my page views in months.  I don’t remember the password to check my Google Analytics. I think all those lists of “10 steps to being a better blogger!!!” are dumb.  I’m never going to be a famous or even semi famous blogger, but I’m going to use this fantastic platform as an outlet and a portal.  An outlet for all the brain goo that needs to be splattered somewhere (I’m charming, I know) and a portal to new relationships, new connections, and inspiration.  I don’t want to blog more, I want to blog better with an eye on expressing myself and connecting to other people, bloggers or not. 

So, things I want to do this year with all this extra time that I don’t need to spend worrying how to be cool: take more pictures, meet new friends, talk over coffee, continue learning who I am, stop being scared, ask questions and listen for the answers.