older than you

so awhile ago, I was reading one of those life improvement books (maybe it was 7 habits or 20 things you should know before . . . I actually have no idea where it was from), but ANYWHOOOO this book/possibly TED Talk said that you should interact with people who are significantly younger than you, your age, and people who are a lot older than you, because it's the most productive way to interact with people. You get to learn from them, they get to learn from you, and all of us have different perspectives. I thought it was kind of cool, so I started thinking about that idea more, and realized it was sooo true! I have a sister who is 10 years younger than me, and I tutored an elementary school student while I was in high school. Talking with them was always so interesting, because the convos went from basic English to profound philosophical statements REAL quick. Kid are great. Love 'em. Then I realized that old[er] people are so awesome too. I mean, when they're not playing BINGO, because let's be honest: BINGO never brings out the best in us. When I started going to church by myself, I realized that I had a rough time making friends with people who were my age. Instead, I became friends with a middle-aged mother of three kids and a 60-something-year-old former Rockette. In the past few months, many people have told me they thought I was 22. Jokes. I don't know if I should be flattered or offended. I don't know if someone who eats peanut butter and crackers for breakfast or refuses to brush their hair could be called 'mature'.

I don't think it's my mannerisms/civilized-ness, but more of my love of stories that makes me like being with people who are older than me. People who have more experiences and more to tell are just more interesting. I could listen to my grandpa go on for hours about his life; to be fair his life was real interesting though . . . congressman in Vietnam, turned principal, who became a teacher when he fled with his family to the U.S. and gets invited to a party Every. Single. Day.

this long segway only leads to my story about someone I've gotten to know over the past few weeks. Her name is Yolanda. She has a son, she's middle aged, and she is frickin dope. She calls me TN, because that's how she phonetically remembers my name, and I appreciate that she actually tries so hard to say it. TN is actually how I explain it to people, so yeah. props to her. I'm not going to say how I know her for privacy reasons, but without further ado, here's a list of things she said over the course of one day.

"He is REALLY Messing himself UP."

*picks up phone* "Oh. Hell. No."

*watching health videos* "This stuff depresses me."

"Oh my gosh I gotta get home and watch America's Most Wanted. They say I shouldn't be watchin this stuff but I wanna know if I see them around."

"The world wouldn't be right if we were all straight {as in normal/sane, not talking about sexuality}. We gotta have some crazy people to make the world go round."

Yolanda had me woke. Go find yourself a Yolanda.

also here's a couple songs that've been stuck in my head for the past week