It's All About Attitude

Below is an except from the book Earthly Stories, Heavenly Truths: A collection of Life Experiences Conveying Inspirational Messages by Rev. Kenneth H. Simpson (my amazing grandfather).

ears ago I heard a profound story about two brothers, John and Randy, who grew up in a small community. Their father was known as the town drunk. Sometimes in a drunken rage he would beat their mother. He seldom could hold a job, he gambled the family's income away, and frequently got into fights down by the railroad tracks.

As John and Randy grew, they took two extremely different paths. John, like his father, became the town drunk. Randy, on the other hand, became a well-respected doctor and community leader. One day a newspaper reporter from a nearby city came to town to write a story about these two quite dissimilar brothers and what made them what they were. The journalist came to John and asked, "What has made you who you are today?" The young man thought for a minute and then replied, "Do you not know that my father was the town drunk, he often beat my mother, gambled away our family income and frequently got into fights down by the railroad tracks? That was the lifestyle I grew up with so what would you expect me to become?"

Following that interview, the correspondent met with Randy. To him he said, "I know that you are one of the most respected leaders of this community. You are notably a fine physician who heals the sick, bu you have done so many good things for this community. Would you tell me what has influenced you to be who you are today?" The doctor thought for a moment and then he replied, "Do you not know my father was considered the town drunk, he sometimes beat my mother, gambled our family income away and frequently got into fights down by the railroad tracks? Since I grew up in that environment, what would you expect me to become?"

The Beautiful Bahamas

I started 2012 off the right way... sitting on the beach next to my favorite person. =)

Arya and I have been to so many weddings over the last couple of years that we've started to get a little jealous. To help quell our jealousy we decided to skip the stressful planning of a big wedding and just enjoy the perks of a cheesy honeymoon instead. Where to go? What was the cheesiest romantic getaway we could think of? A Sandals resort in the Bahamas, of course.

The End of 2011

fter finishing my first semester of law school with my sanity and relationship thankfully still intact, winter break was more than welcome. I had a lot of not-thinking, not being in the library, and sleeping to catch up on. Overall, I would say it was a success, except that it came to an end and classes have started again. Alas, to keep myself distracted from the shiny new set of $500+ textbooks I should be reading right now, I will post about my first winter break since undergrad.

After a couple days of the above-mentioned catching up I had to do, the sister and I were off to Upstate New York for a much needed visit with our extended family. It was complete with seemingly infinite pepperoni rolls, sugar cookies, and board games. We even started a never before attempted bowling excursion to spice things up.

Pie

Sugar Cookies

Grandma, May You Rest in Peace

In case you can't read it, the text says: "Will you love me in December as you do in May, will you love me in the good old fashioned way? When my hair has all turned gray, will you kiss me and say, That you love me in December as you do in May?"

hose are my grandparents. I took that picture back in 2008 at their 50th wedding anniversary celebration. After a five year battle with heart problems, my grandmother passed away this month. Although I added the text on the photo above in 2008, the answer ended up being yes. My grandfather loved my grandmother in the same way he did when they first met as teenagers through her last very difficult days.

My grandmother was a wonderful lady and was a very big part of my life. During my childhood summers we would make play-dough together, weave rugs out of old sheets, and  decorate sombrero hats melted down from Styrofoam cups. At Christmases she would make her famous pepperoni rolls and vanilla cake. Then during my summer visits, when I was too old for childhood arts and crafts, we could just sit back and watch silly TV shows while discussing which male actors were the the most attractive.

She was always very young in spirit. She had the greatest sense of humor, as in only she would think something silly was funny. Then she would proceed to laugh about it for so long that you would eventually get drawn in and laugh too. For as long as I knew her she never lost that youthful sense of humor. My grandmother was also very honest. She could be upfront and tell you like it is, while still being her charming self. She was a smart lady with a lot to say and wasn't afraid to share her thoughts with others. Although she was much more, I will probably always remember her best for her sense of humor and honesty.

I am still missing her, but I am thankful that she is no longer in pain. My grandma is in a better place now-- next to her son, her parents, and all the others who are no longer with us.

She was beautiful inside and out, from beginning to end.

My grandma as a young teenager back in West Virginia.

Christina, The Beauty Pageant Contestant

es, you read the title correctly. I competed in the 2012 Miss Sinergy beauty pageant (all for charity of course). And I placed second! Crazy, right? Now, for those that know me well, this seemed completely out of left field, but I really did it to do something outside my comfort zone and to try and help me improve on my inner beauty. After all, with the help of a good spray tan and a makeup artist applying drag queen levels of make up, I had plenty of help with the outer beauty element.

Internal beauty? How would a pageant named after the outside physical beauty help my inner beauty... Well, that's simple. Since when does the most beautiful girl win the beauty pageant? Ok yea, the ugliest girl never wins, but the final winner always has to have the entire package. She has to be (or at least seem to be) beautiful from the inside out. Have you ever met anyone that was drop dead gorgeous but then after getting to know them for a few minutes or days or years later you find them to be repulsive because their inner beauty does not reflect the outside appearance? I know it's cliché to say this, but I honestly believe that physical beauty is overrated and inner beauty is all that matters, except maybe in a photograph. I know too many people that become more beautiful physically to me because of what they offer from within and so many gorgeous individuals with sucky personalities who I can't look at for too long without getting annoyed. To a certain extent, I really only see the inside after a while. Maybe that's how everyone works, or maybe I'm unlucky, or maybe I'm actually really lucky because of it. No matter the explanation, it's the honest truth. There are many people who may not have a very fortunate lot in the beauty department, but then after getting to know them I can't look at them any other way other than as beautiful. Physically beautiful, really just because their inner beauty radiates outward.

The Evening Gown Competition

Anyways, back to the pageant. The seeds for entering a competition like this were planted when I was an audience member at the last year's Miss Sinergy competition. Initially I was convinced to attend because the ticket money went towards charity (mainly a breast cancer foundation), plus it's always fun to dress up for events. At the event I met some great people and got to talking to a judge who was adamant about my entrance in the next year's competition. He said I would be a great candidate. Then, at the after party, I met some of the contestants who also recommended that I enter next time since they had so  much fun participating. The candidates said that they met a bunch of amazing people and it was just an overall great time. They didn't report any of the usual catty-ness you'd expect at a pageant, plus it's all for charity. Since then my little sister had been encouraging me to just go for it. And you're only young once, so I just went ahead and entered.