Thank you Mr. Stevenson, you successfully defined my life.

"There is no duty so much underrated as the duty of being happy." -Robert Louis Stevenson

That could not sum up my life's work/perspective/insert-appropriate-adjective-here any more succinctly or precisely than I could ever hope to.

The final days...well, kind of.

Finally, after 18 or so years, I will no longer be a student. Work-wise, school is done; according to FIT though, I have one more course to go. But, after the mess these last few weeks have been, I can get through just about anything at this point. So, I'm not completely free of school--summer school awaits. Womp. Womp.

There's been quite a lot happening lately, besides getting myself and everything together for graduation. On a positive note, I've been hired as a part-time educator for CMoM, so I'll be with them for a little while longer. Should be good times :] Hopefully I can find something a bit more permanent soon...

And the secret is out--I know how to paint! Or, more specifically, I haven't forgotten how to. Dare I say I think I actually like it now...? o.0 I never used to be a fan of painting--paintbrushes always felt chaotic in my hand for some reason. I'm very glad to have taken the traditional techniques in the fine arts course this semester...I think it reignited something.
These are some pictures of the final project for the class--an oil painting on a gold leaf/gilded panel. ((DASH would be so disappointed...photographic references! Gah!))

Goodnight.

Our body's fit together like a makeshift puzzle/
And it's clear to see why you puzzle me

Good v. bad, if such things exist.

Very much in binary thinking mode, but this weekend I saw the best and the worst that people can be and do--myself included.

I realized the awful effects that lust/desire can have--that and how it can interfere with/cloud genuine feeling and love.

I also saw the opposite of that dynamic: love minus the interference of physical desire.

I saw an ((apparently)) unwilling/unintended mother neglect, endanger and, abuse her child while others looked on and mocked the scene.

I saw a stranger move across a crowded train to reach out to someone clearly unable to care for themselves and ensure their safety and well-being.

I saw acts of selflessness, chivalry, and selfishness, all in the course of a few hours.

There's so much, so many things that happen in various instances throughout the day. One moment you can be losing hope in humanity and in the next, you see something that restores it. It's half a matter of what we choose to perceive, and part pure observation and openness to as many moments as possible.
Something ((besides myself)) that speaks to that: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tara-stiles/how-to-be-happy-5-simple_b_558379.html

Eres candela, in more ways than one.

"What is it about fire? So calm & peaceful but inside, all power & destruction. It's hiding something. Just like people do. Sometimes you have to get close to find out what's inside. Sometimes you have to get burned to see the truth."