Coming home from work today I saw one of those giant flocks of small birds flying in different formations over a field. You know the ones I’m talking about? I think they are sparrows, but literally there are hundreds flying and weaving, landing, turning, it’s quite the sight to see. Against the backdrop of the clear blue sky, it was beautiful. While watching (and driving), I noticed that as they flew in formation, it seemed that one bird would fly on impulse another way; then one, two, a hundred would follow. It occured several times within seconds.
School started last week for my kids and there has been quite a bit of discussion on popularity in my house..with a pre-teen and a teenager, well of course. “Why is so and so popular?”, “what makes people popular?”…oh yeah, I forgot about all of that pressure. I was never the popular one but I was always nice to everyone which made me ‘well known’ in many different groups of my large school. Today when I watched the birds I was able to talk about that to my kids in terms of popularity. I told them that the birds all flew in a cluster but there was always a leader, in a matter of seconds though, another bird would impulsively go a different direction then the cluster would follow. Do you want to be part of the pack following the popular kid (or lead bird) or the one that breaks off and does your own thing, maybe some come along beside you, maybe not, or maybe new people show up? It’s much more fun to do your own thing and not just be a follower, plus, (as evidenced by the birds) the leader lost his status within seconds. Popularity is fleeting and comes and goes like the wind. I told them to stand firm in who they are, follow their passions, and love people. Everyone has a story and a reason, take time to listen and invest in people. It’s hard to be a parent, I’m sure we’ll have this discussion again, maybe I’ll see something else that I can use as an analogy.
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
― Apple Inc.
Speaking of impulsiveness, I have purchased three lipsticks in two days ,one’s going back and another is a refill on my fall favorite. My color for today and the fall favorite I’m talking about is Lancome L’Absolu Rouge lipstick in Merlot. This happens to be the perfect deep red shade for me. Also the consistency is VERY moisturizing which I love. This is a lipstick I buy every year for fall and winter and is perfect if you have tan skin. Incidentally a perfect bright red for more of a porcelain to medium skin tone is Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Red Square. It’s an awesome color but unfortunately for me it makes me look like a crazy woman…too bright, sigh, I’ll still wear it.
Anna's Lipstick Journey 
Hi And good job! Popularity, ugh! I’m the breaker offer for sure and I have totally dared to be different most of my life. It’s the creative gene that runs my life and in some cases, not in a good direction, but never, ever boring!
Your kids will be whoever they were meant to be and I’m gonna guess they will be loved by everyone in their lives because they are being raised with love by a generous woman, my buddy Anna. Oh yeah, they’ll be fine.
Thanks Jo! Why is the ‘creatives’ have such a hard time in high school? Maybe because we see things differently? At least it was fun!
OF COURSE YOU’LL WEAR IT!!! and i want to see a picture of it on you! :0)
Love watching those birds too, Seeing it alot lately. We do have hawks in our area and they are known to hunt the smaller birds. So they do this as a tactile, so they won’t be eaten
You’re an awesome mom…seeding them with truth and how could they “stand or invest” if they didn’t have a strong foundation? Love on my friend….investment is daily…and wow to think it can come in a form of a blog
Popularity, ugh! I have two kids and one who is almost 12. I told her to be nice to everyone if possible and find some friends and stick with them. Friends come and go and she has already learned that lesson unfortunately. It is ever changing,
Kathy
http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com
Kathy, my daughter’s 12 too…I forgot how mean and competitive girls can be (at any age). Oh the life lessons of Jr High!
this is the 3rd time i am replying; the first one PUFF when i wasn’t logged in…achem, the second one..right when i hit post comment PUFF disappeared as i watched my laptop log off for “upgrades” errr…LOL and now..whew..now just maybe i can say THANK YOU for writing this..for being you so present despite the pain, the paralysis of change showing us all……when one truly lives…..vibrant life is so vivid in generations yet to come!!!!!
i am posting this right now! lol and the other stuff i said..doesn’t seem “needed” ((hugs))
Thank you Brenda! You are AWESOME!Thank you for your persistence in the rply too!!
I enjoyed this enough that I ALMOST wished my daughter were young enough to use your analogy! Wonderfully done. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Leigh! What a great compliment!