Cracking the Code

(My source code)

My source code (inspired by Jami Attenberg: How We Are Wired) is:

Eastern North Carolina barbecue: tender, vinegary pulled pork with creamy coleslaw on top and golden-fried hush puppies on the side, washed down by sugary sweet tea (and yeah, sometimes it leaves a barbecue stain on my white t-shirt). The smell of chlorine and sunscreen mixed together in the hot summer sun. Tuesday night swim meets and homemade Rice Krispies treats.

Mix CDs decorated with colorful Sharpies, and the sweet taste of 90’s junk food: Handisnacks, Dunkaroos, Gushers, Flintstone push pops. Friday nights watching TGIF. Weekends spent at the mall: browsing Claire’s and Limited Too, snacking on cinnamon sugar pretzels, and trying all the testers at Bath & Body Works. The American Girl universe. October visits to the North Carolina State Fair: home of the original ham biscuit, and a good place to get some piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeee. Neil Diamond—the soundtrack of my childhood. Seeing the hot sign on at Krispy Kreme and knowing it means you have to stop.

Summer camp. Sleeping on bunk beds, swimming in the lake, forgetting that the outside world exists. Chasing lightning bugs and watching summer storms. Coke in a glass bottle—the taste of nostalgia. Lucy & Ethel at the chocolate factory. Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, greased lightning, and the yellow brick road. Being there for the tailgate—who cares about the game? Instant awe when the sun sets over the ocean.

Hours spent during my formative years hanging out at Caribou Coffee, Borders, and Barnes & Noble. Pew-racing on Sunday afternoons in the sanctuary after long days at church. Growing up on Tobacco Road and watching March Madness during school. Sitting in my World Civ class watching the second tower fall on TV on 9/11. Oregon Trail in the computer lab. The incessant urge to do a headcount anytime I’m with a group and the YMCA cheers that will never leave my brain.

An endless string of to-do lists; a sense of responsibility. An attraction to bright colors and preppy patterns. Collections of unfinished projects and “someday” ideas. The thrill of the hunt at a thrift store. Ambitious stacks of library books—more than I’ll ever be able to finish before they are due back. Staying up late, immersed in the pages of a book, until I can’t keep my eyes open a second longer. The promise of a good pen and a blank page. The satisfaction of writing with a fresh, new Sharpie. Hands stained with paint and ink, ideas swirling, a desperate need to make something, anything, and document that yes, I was here

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This post is part of a blog hop with the Creative Speed Dating Cohort that Laura Rennie and I are currently leading, with participation from the Exhale community. Fun prompts like these are just a taste of the creative exercises offered. Click here to view the next post in the “Things I Know About Myself” series.

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