Discovery via Taylor Swift
It's going to be worth the read friend
September is a really important month. Not just for Green Day if they have somewhere to be October 1st, but also for ya boy.
On the 30th I reach the one year anniversary of my liver transplant! It is polarizing how quickly the time has passed akin to how slow it has crawled. The good times in recovery have brought me so much joy. That is what I want to focus on here.
Before my transplant music was just music, a word on a piece of paper and the same sounds I’m used to hearing repetitively. I grew up through my college years with the comfort of the same iTunes library I’d been building since the Bush Administration, despite the rise of the various streaming platforms we pay too much money for today. I didn’t want to explore new music; didn’t care to know what else was out there. There was no passion for music.
It’s half-circle post transplant and it turns out I’m a total Swiftie! Originally, I wanted to listen to Taylor’s music to bond with my wife, Arnela. I had a lot of time on my hands post transplant and I wanted to do something that took my mind off the recovering new organ moving its stuff into it’s hepatic dorm room.
Midnights debuted three weeks after my transplant. I imagine Taylor was alongside Arnela as she was going through her own survival and recovery during the dark days (quick pause, if you’re reading this shout out Arnela. She is 1 of 1. There is no one like her and no one else better for me. She also pointed out exactly where the Nutella is sold in Kroger and turns out that has been both a blessing and a curse in our house.) So I listened. And I listened again and we talked and we listened and we debated and we listened and we smiled and we sang and we laughed! Oh! We laughed, and we held hands and we listened. Our intertwined fingers shone light on our smiles. We forgot the nightmare we were living in, the shadows of the unknown recovery that hunted us like a predator in the night.
I had never felt that before. All of it. Maybe that was the first time I allowed myself to feel anything. What started as a passion project to bond with my wife turned into a life changing realization that music is eternal. It’s forever and it’s meant to be loved and enjoyed.
So thank you, Taylor Swift, for helping me find that. Specifically, All Too Well (10 Minute Version). That was the first song I heard that I didn’t want to end.
For the readers, take a moment to see how I’ve ranked all of her albums 1-10 and which song is my favorite off of each album.
Lover- It’s Nice To Have A Friend
Red (Taylor’s Version) ((duh))- All Too Well (10 Minutes)
Reputation- Delicate
Fearless- You Belong With Me
Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)- Haunted (my overall favorite T Swift jam)
1989 (Taylor’s Version)- Wildest Dreams
Midnights 3am Edition- Vigilante Shit
Evermore- Willow
Taylor Swift- Our Song
Folklore- August
My love for the outdoors is back like acne. One might say I have touched grass multiple times this summer. Liberation reveals itself outside. The air is new and the sounds are natural tucked in the back corner of our neighborhood. My mind unlocks a hidden part of my brain when I don’t have to worry about silencing my farts. The ideas flow, and boy do I have a lot of them now that I know what it feels like to *think* about things. The outdoors have been the phone charger my mind has needed to help discover what all I am capable of. Do you remember that episode of Seinfeld where George forgoes sex for awhile because he realized abstinence unlocked the genius part of his brain? That’s me, except not that, ya dig?
I have discovered what it feels like to *want* to do things again. Before my transplant, the most my body could handle physically and mentally was reluctantly punching the clock in and out sprinkled with occasional social outings. I thought that toll was just the physical fees of adulthood.
Nope!
It turns out the Waterboy just needed some water! Or in my case, the Waterboy just needed a new liver? Seriously- imagine receiving a physical reset on your life at 30 years old. Perhaps our painted mental images are similar. For me, my back pain faded away. A supposed unshakable batch of psoriasis naturally disappeared within weeks. I STOPPED BITING MY FINGER NAILS! I may actually be most proud of that. It’s a vice I’ve endured my whole life. Maybe because I sit on the healthy side of the fence now there’s a subconscious stress that’s released, freeing me from the need to bite my fingernails. Alas, I’m not complaining!
All the while I’ve started to explore passion. What do I enjoy doing? What makes me smile every time I talk about it. Thankfully, I’m writing today with a smile on my face.
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PSA: I want to start incorporating other smaller topics beyond my initial post. It’s intended to be similar to how the New York Times formats their daily newsletter.
If you’ve read this far, I want to extend a big thanks (Mom and Dad!) If there is ever a topic you as the reader enjoys or wants me to repeat again please let me know. This is as much for me as it is for my readers.
This week, I wanted to highlight a few things that stood out to me:
Acuna did what?
Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a 95 mile an hour outside fastball 121.2 miles per hour and it landed 454 feet away to center field. That’s probably faster than you’ve ever driven and farther than you can run before you wave the white flag. An incredible feat and the hardest hit ball we’ve seen in Major League Baseball this year.
Homana Homana Homana Homophone Update
I am very happy to say that we have 176 official sets of homophones submitted! Even better we have raised $227. My heart is happy with this pop up fundraiser. You can donate here if you desire!
Weekly Moose Update
