Friday night I went to a party to watch the Opening Ceremony of the 2016 summer Olympics.
2014 FIFA world cup I watched in a hostel in Germany. I watched America beat Ghana in that Irish pub in Rome.
2012 London Opening Ceremony of the summer Olympics I watched in Livingstone Zambia with a random group of British high school kids making fun of their own coutry's ceremony.
2010 FIFA world cup I watched in the meeting room of Engage the advertising agency when I was an intern
2008 Beijing Opening Ceremony of the summer Olympics I watched in the lodge of Camp Christian with the staff
2016 and this year I watched the Rio opening ceremony in some fancy downtown apartment with a bunch of young adult strangers all talking about their jobs, their property taxes of their new homes, and their themed snacks they prepared.
I didn't like it.
I don't want getting older, growing up, to be focused on shit I don't care about.
I don't want all my conversations with friends to be about
how we make our money
how we spend our money
how much money our domiciles cost us
a couple arrived with a baby. All the women in the room lit up to see this baby. They shoved their phones in the baby's face and took numerous pictures. Then I kept looking at the dad. That dudes blank expression...he was silent, he seemed so...unhappy.
I listened to conversations about "binge" watching shows on Netflix.
I sat there in that room and I started to feel anxious. Is this growing up? Is that what I have to fall in line to?
Will my life one day be filled with these kinds of parties?
Olympic Games Opening Ceremony 2016 in Rio Demonstrating Dangerous Climate Change
We all sat in that apartment and we watched the history of Brazil, of the western hemisphere play out before our eyes. We watched the native people of the land be murdered and pushed out, we watched the slave trade come and displace millions of people. Then the ceremonies turned to climate change. Hilary sat in a sweat shirt in that apartment in August because the air conditioning was so cold.
I thought about my own house and how the girls have been cranking that a/c ever since we discovered we have it. It hasn't stopped once since. I think about the imagery of the ice caps melting. I think about those pieces of land being submerged in the ocean and I think about how we sit in our homes with our house set to 70 when the weather is 90 that machine in our back yards working ceaselessly around the clock to keep us uncomfortably comfortable in our sweaters and blankets and what is the cost? It's clear when we watch the opening ceremony. It's not just the a/c it's the lights on with no one in the room. It's the sprinkler system watering the lawns in Arizona or California. It's all of these senseless comforts we convince ourselves couldn't possibly have an effect, what's one more a/c unit?
This is what I want to talk about.
I want to talk about climate change
I want to talk about slavery and #blacklivesmatter
I want to talk about the refugee team in the olympics
But we sit here and we focus on netflix, on our American themed snacks, and we talk about how we pay to much for our property taxes on our homes that are too big for us consuming more energy than needed.
Is this what my 30's will look like?
If I try to bring up these topics every time I go to a party or I spend time with friends, then I won't have any friends left to go to parties with.
No one likes to talk about this stuff. No one likes to think about these issues.
What are we doing? I don't want my life to become some basic middle class white America life.
I don't want to talk about how my lawn looks nice
I don't want to talk about the show on Netflix I watch all Saturday
I want to talk about real things.
I want to talk about hope and love for our planet.
I love the Olympics, I love that our planet has something like this. It's not perfect but the fact that we come together and compete is a really beautiful thing. I always do my best to make sure I don't miss an opening ceremony, to feel connected and as one people on this planet. It's a really special thing.
I'm glad the opening ceremony talked about all of these issues because these are the issues we as a planet need to be thinking about and talking about. We cannot talk about Brazil's history without talking about conquest, greed, and slavery. And we cannot talk about this planets future without mentioning the climate change issue.
I wonder if Bea watched the opening ceremony. I wonder what she thought and the things she had to say.
I miss my best friend. When I am with her, she makes me feel like my life doesn't have to become some horrible surface party with talks of binge watching and 401ks. I know she understands and feels the same as I do about this stuff. She's really great God. I'm glad you made her and I'm even more amazed that You allowed us to meet. :) Thank you, oh God.
God, I pray that Bea finds her honesty and I pray that she finds peace in that.
Thank You for the time I've had her in my life and I ask for much much more time.
I miss her and I love her very much so, oh God.
Please once more, oh God.
Olympic Opening Ceremonies - A journey through time
2014 FIFA world cup I watched in a hostel in Germany. I watched America beat Ghana in that Irish pub in Rome.
2012 London Opening Ceremony of the summer Olympics I watched in Livingstone Zambia with a random group of British high school kids making fun of their own coutry's ceremony.
2010 FIFA world cup I watched in the meeting room of Engage the advertising agency when I was an intern
2008 Beijing Opening Ceremony of the summer Olympics I watched in the lodge of Camp Christian with the staff
2016 and this year I watched the Rio opening ceremony in some fancy downtown apartment with a bunch of young adult strangers all talking about their jobs, their property taxes of their new homes, and their themed snacks they prepared.
I didn't like it.
I don't want getting older, growing up, to be focused on shit I don't care about.
I don't want all my conversations with friends to be about
how we make our money
how we spend our money
how much money our domiciles cost us
a couple arrived with a baby. All the women in the room lit up to see this baby. They shoved their phones in the baby's face and took numerous pictures. Then I kept looking at the dad. That dudes blank expression...he was silent, he seemed so...unhappy.
I listened to conversations about "binge" watching shows on Netflix.
I sat there in that room and I started to feel anxious. Is this growing up? Is that what I have to fall in line to?
Will my life one day be filled with these kinds of parties?
Olympic Games Opening Ceremony 2016 in Rio Demonstrating Dangerous Climate Change
We all sat in that apartment and we watched the history of Brazil, of the western hemisphere play out before our eyes. We watched the native people of the land be murdered and pushed out, we watched the slave trade come and displace millions of people. Then the ceremonies turned to climate change. Hilary sat in a sweat shirt in that apartment in August because the air conditioning was so cold.
I thought about my own house and how the girls have been cranking that a/c ever since we discovered we have it. It hasn't stopped once since. I think about the imagery of the ice caps melting. I think about those pieces of land being submerged in the ocean and I think about how we sit in our homes with our house set to 70 when the weather is 90 that machine in our back yards working ceaselessly around the clock to keep us uncomfortably comfortable in our sweaters and blankets and what is the cost? It's clear when we watch the opening ceremony. It's not just the a/c it's the lights on with no one in the room. It's the sprinkler system watering the lawns in Arizona or California. It's all of these senseless comforts we convince ourselves couldn't possibly have an effect, what's one more a/c unit?
This is what I want to talk about.
I want to talk about climate change
I want to talk about slavery and #blacklivesmatter
I want to talk about the refugee team in the olympics
But we sit here and we focus on netflix, on our American themed snacks, and we talk about how we pay to much for our property taxes on our homes that are too big for us consuming more energy than needed.
Is this what my 30's will look like?
If I try to bring up these topics every time I go to a party or I spend time with friends, then I won't have any friends left to go to parties with.
No one likes to talk about this stuff. No one likes to think about these issues.
What are we doing? I don't want my life to become some basic middle class white America life.
I don't want to talk about how my lawn looks nice
I don't want to talk about the show on Netflix I watch all Saturday
I want to talk about real things.
I want to talk about hope and love for our planet.
I love the Olympics, I love that our planet has something like this. It's not perfect but the fact that we come together and compete is a really beautiful thing. I always do my best to make sure I don't miss an opening ceremony, to feel connected and as one people on this planet. It's a really special thing.
I'm glad the opening ceremony talked about all of these issues because these are the issues we as a planet need to be thinking about and talking about. We cannot talk about Brazil's history without talking about conquest, greed, and slavery. And we cannot talk about this planets future without mentioning the climate change issue.
I wonder if Bea watched the opening ceremony. I wonder what she thought and the things she had to say.
I miss my best friend. When I am with her, she makes me feel like my life doesn't have to become some horrible surface party with talks of binge watching and 401ks. I know she understands and feels the same as I do about this stuff. She's really great God. I'm glad you made her and I'm even more amazed that You allowed us to meet. :) Thank you, oh God.
God, I pray that Bea finds her honesty and I pray that she finds peace in that.
Thank You for the time I've had her in my life and I ask for much much more time.
I miss her and I love her very much so, oh God.
Please once more, oh God.
Olympic Opening Ceremonies - A journey through time