Life-changing days
Thu, Oct. 22nd, 2009 10:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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miss_swamp:
I'm watching Defying Gravity, and there's this great line from Donner:
"There are a handful of days in everyone's life that they can point to and say, 'That day changed me. That day helped make me who I am'. They usually happen on big event days; the day you get married, have your first kid. The day you land on Venus. But they can also happen on regular days. In unlikely moments, with events that may seem like nothing at the time, or they're so huge that they literally take your breath away."
So my question is - what were your days like that?
Good thing this question is in the plural otherwise I wouldn't be able to answer it.
1) The day my brother was born. I still remember my father driving us to the hospital, my mother screaming with the pain of a contraction, and me yelling, in my little 2-year-old voice, "Be qui-yeht!" Yeah, I always spoke my mind. But by the end of the day, I had someone in my life whom I would grow to love, to admire, fight with and laugh with, and to be unable to imagine my life without.
2) The day my father died. We didn't see it coming. It broke my mother. It nearly broke me.
3) The second time I saw "Rocky Horror Picture Show." Yes, really. The first time I saw the film, it seemed like a blip on the radar (sorry,cleas). The second time was transformative because it led to new friendships, my first exposure to drug culture, my earliest relationships with gay men, my first trip to a bar, my first experiences with transvestism, and with prejudice based in things other than race or religion. I went in at 15 pretty fresh-faced. I came out at 17 educated.
4) The night my mother died. We did see it coming, for a very long time. It broke me for years. I've worked very hard to mend--almost there. Maybe I'll get there before I'm 80.
5) The day I hand-delivered my resume to Lou Aronica at Bantam.
6) The afternoon I realized I was done with fanzine fandom. I was sitting in a darkened room with 15 other women watching a Star Trek episode we'd all seen a hundred times. It was a sunny summer day--and we were inside in the dark. I looked around the room and thought to myself, "This is ridiculous. I'm going to go enjoy the sunshine," and I never looked back. I began to date for the first time in years shortly thereafter, and to grow in my career.
7) The day I read a published novel so bad I decided to write a short story to prove I could write something better. (My thought was, "Wow! If [editor x] would pay [writer x] $40,000 for this piece of crap, someone will surely pay me money for something I write.") I sold it on first submission.
8) The day I decided to move to Seattle. I thought I was making a positive career move, as well as removing myself from what was ultimately a gently destructive relationship. Well, it was a move anyway.
9) The day(s) I decided to stay in Seattle. I say "days" because after being laid off from Wizards of the Coast, it took me a long time to decide to stay here. Ultimately, it was a decision made out of pride--I didn't want to go back east with my tail between my legs, which was exactly how it would have felt.
10) The day I decided to buy my condo. I put down roots in a place I thought I'd stay maybe three years tops.
Don't know what happens from here. Maybe I've missed a day here or there; time will tell.
How about you?
miss_swamp:I'm watching Defying Gravity, and there's this great line from Donner:
"There are a handful of days in everyone's life that they can point to and say, 'That day changed me. That day helped make me who I am'. They usually happen on big event days; the day you get married, have your first kid. The day you land on Venus. But they can also happen on regular days. In unlikely moments, with events that may seem like nothing at the time, or they're so huge that they literally take your breath away."
So my question is - what were your days like that?
Good thing this question is in the plural otherwise I wouldn't be able to answer it.
1) The day my brother was born. I still remember my father driving us to the hospital, my mother screaming with the pain of a contraction, and me yelling, in my little 2-year-old voice, "Be qui-yeht!" Yeah, I always spoke my mind. But by the end of the day, I had someone in my life whom I would grow to love, to admire, fight with and laugh with, and to be unable to imagine my life without.
2) The day my father died. We didn't see it coming. It broke my mother. It nearly broke me.
3) The second time I saw "Rocky Horror Picture Show." Yes, really. The first time I saw the film, it seemed like a blip on the radar (sorry,
cleas). The second time was transformative because it led to new friendships, my first exposure to drug culture, my earliest relationships with gay men, my first trip to a bar, my first experiences with transvestism, and with prejudice based in things other than race or religion. I went in at 15 pretty fresh-faced. I came out at 17 educated.4) The night my mother died. We did see it coming, for a very long time. It broke me for years. I've worked very hard to mend--almost there. Maybe I'll get there before I'm 80.
5) The day I hand-delivered my resume to Lou Aronica at Bantam.
6) The afternoon I realized I was done with fanzine fandom. I was sitting in a darkened room with 15 other women watching a Star Trek episode we'd all seen a hundred times. It was a sunny summer day--and we were inside in the dark. I looked around the room and thought to myself, "This is ridiculous. I'm going to go enjoy the sunshine," and I never looked back. I began to date for the first time in years shortly thereafter, and to grow in my career.
7) The day I read a published novel so bad I decided to write a short story to prove I could write something better. (My thought was, "Wow! If [editor x] would pay [writer x] $40,000 for this piece of crap, someone will surely pay me money for something I write.") I sold it on first submission.
8) The day I decided to move to Seattle. I thought I was making a positive career move, as well as removing myself from what was ultimately a gently destructive relationship. Well, it was a move anyway.
9) The day(s) I decided to stay in Seattle. I say "days" because after being laid off from Wizards of the Coast, it took me a long time to decide to stay here. Ultimately, it was a decision made out of pride--I didn't want to go back east with my tail between my legs, which was exactly how it would have felt.
10) The day I decided to buy my condo. I put down roots in a place I thought I'd stay maybe three years tops.
Don't know what happens from here. Maybe I've missed a day here or there; time will tell.
How about you?