Say some crazy director decided my life was so exciting that it just had to be made into a summer blockbust starring a couple of B-rate actors. Well, maybe a couple of RomCom champs would volunteer to portray my non-husband and me. It is my fantasy after all.
Ryan Gosling would OBVIOUSLY want to be Brad. Who wouldn't want to be Brad? Just ask Brad. ;)
Me? I vote Rachel McAdams. It'd be like The Notebook 2.0.
So let's play with this hypothetical...
Free-spirited college student who is a caretaker for her sick mom while her significant other is deployed to Afghanistan as a combat infantryman. When he gets home, she's changed, he's changed, and these familiar strangers are on a journey to find their new normal, which is made easier by their neurotic but lovable pup.
It sounds like a compilation of Nicholas Sparks books, but it's not. Or maybe it is? You tell me.
These moments they defined me then, but my identity anymore is no longer wrapped up in being the cancer survivor's daughter or the infantryman's girlfriend. What I experienced three years ago was not tragic. What I experienced, I realize now, was nothing more than experience itself.
Personal and painful, but not tragic.
Life is life, and I'm just me. The girl who hopped a train from DC to LA to figure things out with a pen and a piece of paper.
I may spend too much money on adventures. And anymore my honesty is often perceived as harshness, and I semi-frequently overwork myself into pissy fits, but I'm proud of the life I've created for myself. I love life. I love the people in the life. What more could I ask for?
So, I'm back to my point. What music would supplement this story? My story?
"Thistle and Weeds"
Plant your hope with good seed is a phrase that I could see on a sign in the home goods section of T.J. Maxx. I love the sentiment and the optimism. The lyrics to this song got me through some really tough times.
"Set Fire to the Third Bar"
This song was used in the Dear John film for a reason. It's relatable. Like Savannah and John, Brad and I fell hard and quick, and when everything seemed to be going along smoothly, war happened. And that separation is just as mental as it is physical.
"Hopeless Wanderer"
"Be where you're at," is a piece of advice my uncle gave me recently. I've always tried to find home--a place--and I've realized in the past few months that for me home is, in fact, a person.
"Home"
I'm lucky enough to have a best friend who is my partner. I can picture my life with him 30, 40 years from now. He's not afraid to hurt my feelings, and when I call him a smug arrogant bastard he knows it's out of love, frustration-inspired love but love none the less.
That was that chapter. But now, I'm onto something new, we're onto something new.
Brad's officially out of the Army. March 6, 2013. I can't believe I'm saying that. I still feel like I'm going to jinx something. Now he's just a dysfunctional veteran that finds peace in nature. And I'm a soon-to-be communications consultant in an absolute panic over no homework and no lectures. More time for nature?
It's a new chapter in a familiar setting. To Be Continued is exhilarating and scary but beautiful.
But enough about me...what would your life soundtrack be?
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