Conversations

One of my favorite things in life is to have random conversations about anything and everything and with anyone. One day when I was in the grocery store I was chatting with this unknown person, The Dude (aka my ex-husband, baby-daddy, etc.) whispered in my ear “what are you doing? Do you know this person?” – to which I replied that I didn’t know the person. He looked at me like I was a crazy lady. But guess what? Guess who now has random conversations with random people, too?!?! THE DUDE….it’s really quite funny now.

However, the best conversations are those I get to have with a teenager. I think that conversations with teenagers can be insightful, grounding, even humbling, sometimes. Conversations with teenagers sort of put things into a different perspective than what we adults see. Teenagers see things in a way that relates to them and their existence and we adults tends to muck things up because we put our own weird outlook on something. Is this in an effort to hide the truth from ourselves? Is it easier to see things just as they are and not how we want them to be?

So, conversation with my teenager today makes me smile because it relates to being a woman, being in love, being someone who is admired or looked up to. She has been obsessed with the women and their relationships from the series “Sex and the City” and apparently she has had her “ah ha!” moment relating to her mother – me. For those of you who have watched the show/movies religiously – did you ever identify the most with a character? Well, I did…I always thought I was like Samantha….never did I think I was like the one and only Carrie Bradshaw! But today, in my conversation with the teenager, I saw myself in a different light. Today it was explained to me that like Carrie, I was fashionable, believed in love everlasting, fun to be around, and admired for my confidence and my sense of self. These are things I have never seen in myself because I focus too much on the negative and don’t acknowledge the positive. Apparently this is a good thing that I am like Carrie because according to my teenager, Carrie Bradshaw is her favorite character and the one my teenager would most want to emulate.

Today, in my conversation with the teenager, I was informed that I was her favorite person and who she wanted to grow up and be like….me and Carrie Bradshaw. I told the teenager to grow up and be herself, not like me or anyone else…..never be afraid to be exactly who she is. So, in your conversations with teenagers, strangers, or even yourself – don’t be afraid to look at yourself and see all the spots. What you may see as a fault, someone else may see as your special spark, your special beauty that is very rarely looked at by yourself.