I love your accent

A special kind of beauty exists which is born in language, of language and for language. - Gaston Bachelard

I have always been mesmerized by accents. I think hearing people with different accents speak is probably the coolest thing ever. Tampa is a fairly diverse city, but it doesn't have as much international appeal as some of the larger cities in the USA. Some of the common accents here are Hispanic accents(since we are so close to Puerto Rico and Cuba), American Southern accents and some American Northern accents(New York, Boston and others who were tired of the snow up there :)). Occasionally, I may get lucky and run into someone with a less common British, German, Slavic, Asian, Middle Eastern or Indian accent. Any accent is awesome though.

Whenever I meet someone with an accent, all I really want to do is keep asking questions so they'll keep talking. Lol. :) It's still so neat though. The different ways people pronounce their words and express their thoughts. I usually think of myself as someone without an accent, but one of my friends pointed out that I have an American accent. I guess I really can't argue that point. ;)

I love how you bring your accent with you wherever you may go in the world. It sort of gives people a glimpse of where you're from and it's a part of who you are. Accents seem to be reminders of how big this world actually is. Reminders that not everyone grew up the way you did, gotten the chance to see what you've seen or know what you know. :)

A question for my question

I was sitting in my English 2 class today watching some more of my classmates' presentations on different authors. Even though I was really tired from staying up late working on math problems the night before, I was genuinely impressed by what I learned about these few different authors. The first author presented was Mark Twain. You could spend days researching everything this man has said. Everything he said was phrased with such cleverness and wit.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

This was one of Mark Twain's more sincere quotes, but still very wise and thought-provoking. I really enjoyed it and I hope to keep it in mind whenever I am unsure of taking a risk. :)

The second author was Jodi Picoult. She's a contemporary author, who I've never paid much attention to, honestly. I recognized her name from the previews for the movie "My Sister's Keeper", which is based on her novel with the same title. My classmate shared two quotes that I found exceptionally smart.

"Maybe who we are isn't so much about what we do, but rather what we're capable of when we least expect it." - Jodi Picoult

"Let me tell you this: if you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you, it's not because they enjoy solitude. It's because they have tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint them." - Jodi Picoult

The first quote made me smile. =o) I think most people would like to believe that their lives have greater meaning than just the daily routine that is usually carried out. Sometimes we don't know how much we are actually capable of until we are faced with a situation that demands us to give everything that's inside of us.

The second quote struck a nerve in me, because I've always been admirable of loners. I've always found their independence and confidence to be interesting. I've never really stopped to think about why someone may have become a loner. Now I realized that maybe they were molded that way instead of born that way? I always assumed that there was some rare strength in their personality that caused them not to crave other people's acceptance or companionship. After hearing that quote, it kind of reminded me that even though some people are more independent than others; they are still human and must require some type of human affection - no matter how unapparent that need may seem.

I've maybe reevaluated what I think of when I think of "strength". Humans are definitely not unfeeling, indestructible robots, so why would I think more highly of someone with the emotional tendencies of a robot? Lol. =o) I guess everyone wants to put on a strong face for the world to see. Maybe that is what is expected of us in some way? I wish I could end these blog entries with groundbreaking conclusions to the questions I ask myself, but I guess here's another entry ended with another question. ;)

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Do you remember being little and having adults ask you, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" It's as if we had such clear-cut visions of who we wanted to become. The whole world was ours for the taking. "I'm going to be a doctor!" "I want to sing!" "When I grow up, I'm going to design rockets for NASA!" Your answer was so enthusiastic and it was a declaration of your dreams to the world. Whatever your answer may have been, it usually resulted in some form of an amused smile and hearing, "That's nice."

Now, being 24 years old, I can't help but desperately want to answer this question again. I would like to think if I knew the answer that I would shout it from the rooftops as if I were 8 years old again. :) "Hey, world! Listen up! I'm all grown up and I'm going to be a.......!" Haha.

There are many professions that I admire and find interesting, but I wonder if the right one is just supposed to tap me on the shoulder one day and say, "Hi, Diana. It's me - your destiny. Sorry I'm a little bit late, but I lost track of time. Here I am!" Lol. Wouldn't that be awesome?! Well, maybe it happens that way or kind of differently.... ;) But I guess we will always have changing dreams of what we will do and who we will become. Who is to say what we are destined for?

Also, growing up doesn't stop you from dreaming. I think that getting older makes you more susceptible to putting more value in your logic and reasoning than your passions though. It's good to be practical, but when you look back in history or even now to modern day success stories; it's not the practical or cautious figures we tend to admire. Sometimes I wonder if your fate is only revealed to you once you are willing to offer enough fire and passion into whatever it is that you think you want. Oh geez, I could talk in circles forever, lol, but I guess I will end this entry on that note. :)

Jul...Jul...Jules Verne

"Anything one man can imagine, other men can make real." - Jules Verne

It's funny doing something that you're scared to do. I was in total fear of getting up in front of my class and having to present on Jules Verne. I had to do it though. I had to, because I wanted to get an "A" in this class. I wasn't going to let one assignment ruin it for me! Also, public speaking has always been my #1 fear(Well, besides reptiles and heights...) and being aware of my fear has always had a strange effect on me. I always seem to reach a boiling point where I get so sick of being scared that I can't wait to just run out and kick fear's ass. I become fixated on proving myself against this fear. When it reaches this point, the whole world plays in slow motion and it's a huge adrenaline rush. As I was speaking to my class, I knew that I was scared as hell, but I couldn't stop. The words just came out. All of the ideas and insights I'd planned to share with my class had to be heard.

I spoke the last few words of my presentation and I just looked at my class, smiled and started laughing a little bit. I was still alive! Lol. I think my nervousness was obvious, but my professor and my classmates said that it was a really great presentation. It's always funny to look back and laugh about how scared I was about something so silly. The most awesome part about facing a fear is being able to look back and say that "I DID IT!" So now that public speaking is getting easier, maybe it's time to get brave around snakes??? Or not! Lol. :)