Week 26, Day 6

Today our guest blogger is Kyle Cowser! Kyle is a good friend of mine from high school. We've kept in touch throughout college and after. Kyle, Mike, Steph, Ryan, Kaitlyn and I are all in the same group of friends from high school (isn't it awesome that you readers now know some of my closest friends!) Hands down, I have the best conversations with Kyle- that's probably the thing that sticks out the most about him. He challenges people to think out of the box, he's very intelligent, a great debater and at the same time very respectful when some one has a differing opinion, has a great sense of humor, and is a fun guy to be around. He's also in law school which is awesome, and I am so proud of him- I'm sure it's not easy. No matter what Kyle did with his life, he would succeed. He has a huge heart as well. The funny thing is that Kyle would probably tell you the opposite, but I see it. He's also a wonderful friend. Proof: Kyle sent me a Christmas card this past Christmas that was filled with an update and words of encouragement. I mean, I opened the card and every white space was filled. I felt so encouraged, uplifted, appreciated, and loved after reading that card. It meant so much that he took the time to write it and send it. That's just one example- take my word for it, he's a great guy and I think you'll see that in his post. Here it is:




Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is Kyle Cowser, guest blogger extraordinaire. I’m honored that Amanda asked me to participate this week, and I’ll tell you why: Amanda is one of the coolest people ever. She wanted me to write about what “Seize the Week” means to me. Here goes: “Seize the Week” is Amanda Keene. Adventurous, friendly, open-minded, wise, and everything else that is great. As a philosophy, it’s brilliantly manageable - try something new this week. But Amanda brings a unique quality to this blog: she’s positive rather than critical. She takes what she has learned from each experience and, no matter what, frames each experience as an enjoyable adventure. Like Amanda, I’m constantly trying to expose myself to new things, but I often get stressed out or feel like I wasted my precious time (to be fair, law school can suck up time like no one’s business). Frankly, Amanda’s attitude and sincere love of people has always been inspirational. I admire her because, in many ways, we are opposites.

…I’m easily bored. By people, by music, by movies, by books, by life. Never by puppies. They never fail to amuse. I spent most of college studying stories. I took screen writing courses, playwriting courses, short-story writing courses, sketch comedy workshops, filmmaking courses, etc. I learned the successful structures in which to tell narratives. This may have created a problem: most stories (and songs) follow the same tested formula with the same old tricks. I couldn’t live through movies or TV anymore because they were predictable. And life? Life was just as boring, if not more. You meet the same types of people, go the same places everyday, stress about the same things… yuck. When you can’t escape into escapism and your own life stinks, there’s nowhere to go, right?

I wish that I could say, “that’s why I took my life into my own hands and started living the most interesting life EVER.” But I didn’t. Not entirely. I’ve been taking small steps and, sometimes, a few cannonballs. Sadly, I can’t drop everything tomorrow and become a dinosaur robot pirate. But I started listening to other people’s opinions and interests more. I backpacked around Europe for two months (kind of predictable, I know). I began searching for new, original things to do… but I’m not Amanda. I’m judgmental. If I don’t like your music, I’ll say, “this sucks.” I’ll call “The King’s Speech” overrated (it is). I guess that this just gets back to who we are. I’m cynical because I feel like I wasted a lot of my life. I dated a girl for five years because it was a (usually) comfortable status quo. I stayed in Indiana for college because I was scared of taking a leap. I locked myself in law school because I wanted to be responsible. I didn’t follow my dreams and I’m desperately trying to catch up. If anything in my day wastes my time, I’m going to call it crap.

“Seize the Week” takes the best possible attitude because the best possible attitude is Amanda’s. She doesn’t give up. She doesn’t shift the blame. She finds the good in everything and everyone. I don’t think that she’s naïve for being so positive. She has it right. We should try new things and appreciate each little moment that we have.

A few months ago, I decided to start a similar blog (don’t worry, it’s not THAT similar), but it’s difficult to actually write long essays about each new thing that I experience. I’m jealous of Amanda’s style. It’s pretty nifty. Maybe I should finally stop being critical and allow myself find the awesome in everything. And then learn the concept of brevity.

Here’s my little addendum. Because I’m so opinionated, I’m going to leave a list of music that has rocked my world in the last few years. I was never really into music, but once I opened up to it, I realized that there’s so much odd greatness out there. There’s more than three-minute singles and catchy hooks! More than the booty-shakin’ songs of the Black Eyed Peas! These are some random albums that might make you uncomfortable, but that’s the point. They aren’t too weird, but they changed my perspective, have dense layers of complexity, and mean a lot to me (warning: some people find them boring). Next year, I hope to like some things that are completely different from these. If you never jump entirely out of your comfort zone, you’ll always be the same person. Most importantly, you’ll never be a dinosaur robot pirate.

MUSIC:

(If you ever have a basic “hipster” week, here’s some help. Also, they tend not to work as snippets - they’re the kind of thing that you need to sit through. They all go well with tea.)

Beach House – Teen Dream

Deerhunter – “He Would Have Laughed” (single)

Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

Joanna Newsom – Have One on Me

Portishead - Dummy

And if you get braver (and want to listen to what the cool kids listen to):

Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion

Panda Bear – Person Pitch