don't you wish your boyfriend was andy dwyer?

Does anyone actually encapsulate the phrase "their own person"? I mean, is there anyone who actually doesn't care and is content with who they are and who they will become whether or not it takes a long time? If I did find this person (or think I had), I would never want to peg that person because how incredibly presumptuous of me to assume that anyone could possibly have it figured out...and how, by me simply peeking into that person's life, can I possibly have a clue what is going on in their lives?

I have this idea that everyone belongs to someone or something. Not that they are totally defined by something or someone, but I think everyone has a place in their souls that gets filled up by certain things and feels empty when those things aren't not there. I used to think that kids were pretty good examples of "own persons". But in reality, even as a kid I tried to stay in the haven of my parent's approval.

Moving on to something less human. Animals take pride in belonging. My dog will do anything as long as I love her forever and ever and never yell. It's true. She maintains her need for attention but only to the most dire of her needs; if she knows I am in the least dissatisfied, she immediately comes over to see how she can fix me. Why are we so in tune to what people want? Why can't we be content with who we are no matter how it affects us?

We can't. I honestly don't think we were created as creatures of solitude, either in physical presence or within our own thoughts. We are imperfect thinkers and doers and be-ers, and bouncing ideas and perspectives off other people brings us closer to the way it's supposed to be. And let's face it. It's not the way it's supposed to be. Nothing is.

But oh the glimpses of beauty! Before my husband and I got married, he gave me the book "Into the Wild", which I quickly devoured to find something even more precious on the back cover. Philip had written the words "experiencing beauty" at the top; the remainder of the page was covered in words we can only associate with "the way things are supposed to be". Some included "forgiveness. tears. truth. sunsets. sunrises. realizing how much you care." And it went on and on until I was in a puddle of tears, wrapped in the emotion of the terribly redemptive story I'd just read and the truth that had been showered over me. Chris McCandless did a lot of searching for a place to belong and even though he didn't discover the truth until he was nearly dead, he reached a culmination of finally getting it in the form of these words scrawled on a piece of paper: "happiness is only real when shared".

Thank God there are other people in the world. To keep me in check, to humble me, to whittle me down to my core, to pray for me, to excuse me, to give me all these millions of chances, to listen, to reorient me, to yell at me, to cry with me, to be mad at me, to laugh with me, to embark with me. So I'm here in the city with a few friends that are just as busy as me, and I'm here to tell them: I want to share happiness with you. There are so many things that make me happy, and I want to enjoy them with new friends and old friends. Thanks for accepting me, District of Columbia. You're growing on me.

In honor of my sweet home...

I would like to end today's post by making a case that Andy Drywer from Parks and Rec, is the most "his own person" ever. And let's be real. He's not real. Enjoy a buzz feed moment...

http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/examples-of-why-you-should-wish-that-your-best-friend-was-an