One Simple Question // What Can You Change Today?

It’s time for something new on Show & Tell… and it’s the new series, “One Simple Question.” Each week I’ll make a short video, asking one simple question. It won’t be longer than 2 minutes. Just a simple question for you to think and reflect on halfway through your week. Hopefully each question will inspire you, give you some motivation, and help you get through the rest of your week.

So, without further a’do… I give you one simple question… What can you change today?

What Can You Change Today? from Karen Schlink on Vimeo.

Personal Repetition

It’s interesting. Writing. The fact that I am a writer. It hasn’t clicked yet. I don’t connect yet with the phrase, “I am a writer.” But I am. Four or five days a week, I write blog posts. Posts that people around the world read- literally, people all over the world read my writing. Posts that people share with others because they like them, that they with connect and understand what I’m saying, who message me and say, “Thank you so much for writing that, I really needed it.” … And yet, I don’t feel like a writer.

Maybe it’s because it isn’t the type of writing that I thought I would be doing. I always thought of a writer as someone who create stories and novels… and that’s what I did. I wrote a novel (well, half of a novel). I made up characters and worlds. There was in-depth dialogue, true emotions, plot twists, character development, emphasis, and symbolism . When I read how J.K. Rowling cried when she killed Dumbledore, I knew how she felt- because I wrote like she did; from the soul and from the heart. Yet, that’s not what I do… that’s probably not the type of writing I will ever do.

And it does disappoint me. If I’m going to be completely honest, it does. I always thought my vampire novel was going to be published, be on the New York Times Best Sellers list, get turned into a movie and I would get to be on Ellen… and trust me, this was years before Twilight was even a thing. I mean, I even had all the songs picked out for the movie soundtrack, which the sixth grader in me thought would be entirely done by Nickelback because that’s when Nickelback was cool…

But even as I write this, all I think about is how this entry could be a blog post. I think about the witty comments I would make in (parentheses), about which words I would bold and repeat for emphasis, which sentences I could link to another post or someone else’s blog that relate to what I’m talking about… Anytime I hear a certain phrase, or see an inspiring movie, or watch my favorite TV shows, instead of fully enjoying it or thinking about the true meaning, I instead think, “Well that would make a good blog post!” Even today I went to saw ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ which I’ve been waiting and waiting to see since the summer… and I didn’t fully enjoy it, because the entire time I was waiting for the one phrase I would use for inspiration for tomorrow’s blog post.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE that my job is to write these posts. This so called “job” is the most fulfilling job I have ever had, and I continually get confirmation that this is what I am suppose to do. I’m working on workshops, and I’m visiting high schools to get feedback to bring Show & Tell to it’s full potential. I have plans and dreams of expanding Show & Tell to more than just some “.wordpress.com” blog… But sometimes, it just gets repetitive.

These feelings I have about writing aren’t bad. What I write everyday isn’t bad, and I haven’t given up on my love for writing… It’s all just different. But it does get repetitive. When I get this feeling is when I have to take a step back and take a break. Not a big hiatus or end Show & Tell, but just a step back from my laptop and research and constant ‘What am I going to blog about tomorrow’ feeling, and do something for me.

That’s when I have to get out my journal or notebook and write something for myself. Whatever comes to mind, I just have to write something for me, something for Karen. A journal entry, stupid fan-fiction, rewrite of an old chapter I wrote, a new plot line I’ve thought up of, a scene from a sitcom idea, whatever it is, I just have to write. The same goes for my photography. Sometimes I have to exit out of Photoshop, shutdown my laptop, take my camera and photography whatever my heart wants to show.

… and that’s when it comes full circle. I show who I am through my photography, and I tell my story through my writing.

Thaaaaat’s hilarious.

/////

This was a journal entry I wrote last night. I thought I would share it, because I thought other people could relate. Because repetition can be good, but sometimes we just have to stop. Repetition can be constructive, or it can be destructive. Yeah… That’s all, I suppose.

Do you need to take a step back from your repetition?

Create Something Beautiful

This is something my Pastor said back in May that really resonated in my heart.

You have the opportunity to create something beautiful in this world.

That idea had never really crossed my mind before. I have the opportunity to create something beautiful in this world. Not only that, but we ALL have the opportunity to do so! If you think about it, it is a pretty profound statement… but it is an amazing statement, too.

When we think about leaving an impact on this world, we usually think about the really big things: discovering and making inventions, people who made huge strides in human rights movements, doctors and scientists, famous singers and actors… But I don’t think the idea is to make something that everyone in the world will remember and celebrate for the rest of time, but something that will affect a handful of people, or maybe just one person, and make them think, “Now THAT is beautiful.”

Here is what beautiful actually means,
(I’ll underline the keyword, in my opinion, of each definition)

beau·ti·ful [byoo-tuh-fuhl] 

adjective

1. having beauty; possessing qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to
see, hear, think about, etc.

2. excellent of its kind

3. wonderful; very pleasing or satisfying.

These typically aren’t what you think of when you hear ‘beautiful’, are they?

That’s because our society has completely skewed up the true definition of beautiful is (we won’t be discussing body image today, but trust me that one is on the way).

According to the definitions above, there are millions of beautiful things in this world; high-rises and skyscrapers that employe thousands of people, chemistry and compounds that cure life threatening diseases, comedians and actors who make people laugh, teachers who nurture and care for their students, police officers and first responders who save lives, chefs who cook amazing meals, tattoo artists who create masterpieces and legacies, photographers who capture moments people will never forget, writers who make you forget the real world for a while as they take you off into a distant land, parents who provide for their children, teenagers who explore and try new things… Everyday we all have the opportunity to make something beautiful in the world. You may make one beautiful thing, or you may make a thousand. How many you make and whose life you impact is up to you.

So today, and everyday, I want you to think about what you can beauty you will create in this world. What will you create? Who will you impact? Why do you want to do it? How can you make it happen?

For me, more than anything, it is this blog. I say this almost once a day: If I’m not a photographer in five years, even next year for that matter, I am more than okay with that… As long as I’m able to reach out to teenagers and young adults and help them see how important they are… Well, that’s the most beautiful thing I can do.

The possibilities are endless… It’s simply up to you to create it.

Because you are important.

What will you create to bring more beauty to this world?