I have to give credit to one of my favorite and quirkiest friends for inspiring the name of this blog. Actually, for writing it, she just didn’t mean to.
From her wedding website:
Jess was my first friend at High School. I think that was probably due to some divine force looking out for me. Jess is a constant inspiration to me. She is a passionate, unapologetic, force of nature. She does it all, from playing with cheetahs in Africa to teaching high-schoolers in New Mexico.
There is little like old friendships to keep you grounded and remind you that somewhere out there is still someone who remembers when you wore a cloak and carried around an acrylic sphere. It is so comforting to not have to explain who you are or how you became that person, because an old friend already knows. Take a minute today to reconnect with your best friend from high school. I bet she/he misses you too. Mine unknowingly titled my blog today.
Other titles under consideration were “Mac Attack,” a name created by friends from grad school to describe an outburst directed at someone who crossed me, or “Ms. Mac Attack,” a name I feared my students would call me before I actually started teaching. Both seemed too negative for what I want to write. I also considered many titles with various derivatives of the word fire; “Firecracker Dawn,” “Fireworks in Winter”, “Firefly Daydreams.” My boyfriend informed me these were all lame.
Then I went another direction, maybe something with the words serenity, peace, or tranquility....all seemed too, well, serene for the thoughts in my head. I thought about going with my teaching name “Ms. Mac’s backpack.” I was stuck on this for a while, as I thought I would be unpacking my wisdom to the world-wide web. Then I realized I might not have much wisdom. So that was out. “Dr. Mac”?- that’s great, start out lying to the people. How about focusing on an interest? “Wildlife”- fabulous, I sound like a sleazy party girl. “J-Lyn Within”- it rhymes and it stinks. Ugh, why was this so hard?
I wanted to wrap up exactly who I am in a couple of words. A liberal, loudmouth who is happy to fight zealously for civil rights, the stewardship of our environment, and quality education for every kid, regardless of their parents’ socioeconomic status! I wanted to explain that I think travel is vital part of a life-well lived, and not a luxury. That homeless animals and family-less kids should have more advocates in this world. And that the arts are just as important as any football team. In short, I wanted to say too much with too few words.
Lucky for me, I have an old friend who can describe me better than I can. And thus
A Passionate, Unapologetic, Force of Nature blog was born.
