In This I believe

Driving home from work today. NPR on the radio. A lady with a moderate Tennessee accent read her version of, "In this...I believe". I'm no stranger to being almost moved manipulatively by NPR stories that ordinary people have written, and this day would not prove antithetic. So, here goes.

In this, I believe...

I believe in using the thesaurus tab on dictionary.com to look up better words for 'different'. I believe in not being ashamed that that is where I found the word 'antithetic'.

I believe that most of the worlds pessimists are really just romantics. Hurt romantics but romantics with sensibilities.

I believe that you can hurt people close to you without knowing you are doing so. And in turn they can hurt you back, knowing they are doing so. And vice versa.

I believe that advil and wine make a great combination, no matter what Diane Sawyer said a couple weeks ago on Good Morning America.

I believe in comic relief mostly because I don't want to be seen as a huge posing sap.

I believe in the power of the animal you feed. Maybe they only pur when you come home because you're about to feed them, but they are purring for you. And nurturing something is a powerful feeling.

I believe in making fun of my sisters. I don't know why...but if I don't make fun of you ever, I REALLY don't like you. I believe that might be sick.

I believe in my doppelganger. She believes it's ok to be dark, morbid and grotesque. She also loves it when people tell her that what she writes is scary or it made the hairs on their arms stick up.

I believe in rational love, but only so someone can disprove that to me one day.

I believe in being vague on purpose.

I believe in emoticons. In text messaging. In not answering the damn phone if I don't want.

I believe in tormented people. In people who feel deeply. In people that can be honest with themselves first.

I believe that this has gone on too long and if I do not truncate now I won't finish the novel one of my coworkers wrote tonight.

In all this, I believe.