You Capture: What Inspires You?

You may recall that a few weeks ago I participated in my first You Capture challenge, which is a photography-based blog carnival sponsored by the blog I Should Be Folding Laundry. Each week there is a theme, and you are supposed to post pictures you took based on that theme. This week's theme is: What Inspires You?

Well, shoot. What the hell should I post? I don't actually know what inspires me, let alone have a photograph of it. I know there are things that motivate me, such as: the welfare of my family, money, not looking like a total idiot, weight loss, coffee, etc., etc., etc. But inspiration is sort of like motivation's more enlightened cousin. And to be honest, I'm not one of those people who is easily inspired. You know, like those people who owned the non-satirical versions of those inspirational posters, with words like "Teamwork" or "Integrity" and then a picture of a sunset or something on them? (I'm looking right at you, college roommate Michele-with-one-L.)

I'm so jaded that usually when somebody does something inspirational, my mind automatically goes to the fact that the person was well-connected, rich, or had a team of personal trainers, so of course he/she achieved that goal. (I'm still sort of referring to a story involving Michele-with-one-L, who once attended a speaking engagement starring our college's most famous alum, Michael Douglas. And Michele went on and on about how inspirational Michael's story was, because he had a dream to become and actor and he just doggedly pursued it until it was realized. And I was like, but, yeah, his father is a famous actor. This retort did not go over well with a person who was also inspired by a picture of a sunset.)

In addition to not being easily inspired, I also have a very jealous streak, so a lot of times one person's inspiration is actually my trigger for jealousy. Take, for example these cheerleaders who cheer about science. Part of me is like, it's great that these women are destroying stereotypes and promoting women in the sciences. But another part of me is like, umm, if I knew you, I would kind of hate you, with your multiple graduate degrees and your stunning cheerleader body.

Okay, so onto the pictures. Now, I should note that photography is not really my medium. I do better with words, which I think puts me at a disadvantage because, hello, a picture is worth a thousand words. Anyway, I took a few pictures, but I'm really just going to use them as jumping-off points to writing about them.

I have posted this first picture before. It's a picture of my friend Katie at the start of the Chicago marathon.
Katie completed the marathon, despite being injured during training. And the thing is, Katie doesn't inspire me to run an actual marathon. I'm just not sure that is a realistic goal for me.

Here is how she inspires me:

You see, like me, I think Katie is kind of an overthinker (sorry, G Money, if that's an insult). And I know that the marathon training was emotionally challenging for her. And she persevered in spite of the struggles. While everybody who runs a marathon probably has struggles, I could relate more to Katie's struggles, and therefore I have more respect for her for overcoming those struggles. And that's why she inspires me.

Now, as I said, my particular goal is not to run a marathon. That is, for sure, a lofty goal, and one that is very impressive to achieve. However, my lofty goal is to become a well-known writer, something I stated in this post about how I want to become one of the Babble's Top 50 mom bloggers. And I just think, if Katie could push through all the pain and self-doubt and still run that marathon, I can sit on my couch and push through my own self-doubt about not being a good enough writer.

In that post about wanting to make Babble's 2011 Top 50, I said I'd like to become the Susan Boyle of the blogosphere. You know, a total unknown who rises from obscurity based on raw talent alone? So, as cheesy as it sounds, Susan Boyle kind of inspires me. Seeing as I don't actually have a picture of her that I took, I present this representation:

Yes, I propped up a CD on Leia, because pictures automatically become better when you add a cat to them!

I think the only other famous person who inspires me is Tina Fey. Not-so-secretly, I long to be Tina Fey. Whether or not it's true, I imagine myself to be kind of like Tina Fey, a sort-of-nerdy, self-conscious woman who uses humor to diffuse awkward situations. I have read that Tina just knew she belonged in the comedy field, and she wouldn't give up until she made it big. Now, I do not possess that level of determination. I give up pretty easily, and I always took play-it-safe stable jobs, rather than taking chances on the longshot endeavor that would leave me creatively fulfilled.

But I try, just a little, to channel a little of Tina's drive. I try to take the attitude that I know I have something creative to offer the world, and I'm going to push myself as much as my little suburban housewife self comfortably can. So, again, I don't have a picture of myself with Tina Fey or anything like that (I wish!). So I took a picture of a picture of her on my laptop, which probably presents some copyright disputes. Anyway:




Don't you like that Impressionist-style blurry photographic effect? It's called fingerprints.