On Red Vines and Twizzlers

I have always been made fun of for my "oversensitive taste buds" or picky eating. My mom always says that when I was a kid I could taste the difference between brands of hotdogs and goldfish crackers. You guys. There's a difference. Especially when you're trying to pass off crap mystery meat hotdogs for all beef ones. And really, Cheese Nips are gross and Cheeze-its and Goldfish are far superior. BIg differences between all. I can't be the only one who notices this.

Anyway this was a little issue last Valentines day. Dan, in his great kindness and love for me got me a bag of twizzlers. I really appreciated the thought and it really was so sweet... but I hate twizzlers. It's like the only red licorice I can't do. Luckily I caught them the day before Valentines day and he felt bad and went and bought me other candy that I did like. Not that it really mattered- it was still very sweet and a valuable lesson learned.

So the other day I was making banana bread and Dan was in the shower when all of a sudden I hear "Katie!, Red Vines and Twizzlers are completely different!". At first I couldn't really understand him- context, walls, and running water made that really difficult to understand. So I walked closer and he explained to me that red vines and twizzlers are different. To which I replied- duh. So different. He hadn't thought about it until November 2, 2013 while I had been thinking about it practically my whole life. I guess he was thinking about movie candy and how red vines and coke sounded good but twizzlers and coke would be awful and since the coke hasn't changed red vines and twizzlers- although similar candies- must be different. Everything is a proof in our home with a math genius.

While it was completely random and kinda weird, it was really nice to be validated. They're completely different which means I can like one and dislike the other. I will not be mocked. It was kind of like the time that Dan came to watch Half the Sky with me to understand why I was minoring in Women Studies. That Dan, he's a good one.

Random thoughts on empathy

If you could color me any emotion, I think it would be empathetic. Alright- it's not really an emotion but what color would it be? Mirror? Clear? Green? It's not orange because that's loneliness (Big Bang Theory shout out). Okay it's not a color it's not an emotion. But I have an overwhelming gift of empathy.

This gift is sometimes really great- I can feel really happy for friends very easily. I feel their happiness. I understand what they're feeling and it makes me so so so happy for them. It's great being able to rejoice in other people's happiness. It has helped me create bonds with people I normally wouldn't have bonded with. But as with all good things there is a down side. I feel my empathy works more in the negative too.

The first time I noticed my empathy was when I started watching tweeny bopper shows like Degrassi or really anything on Nickelodeon or Disney Channel. I loved those shows for some reason. It was like looking into my life- except that it was completely different from my life. It was like looking into my life if it were written to be on television. The thing was I couldn't watch a full episode. I would have to change the channel if anything awkward or embarrassing was going to happen. It felt like it was going to happen to me- that this social awkwardness that my 12 year old mind was trying so hard to avoid was occurring to me simultaneously with the characters on these shows. If you're wondering this still happens to me when I watch TV and when I'm people watching in the math building on campus. So awkward.

I see it more in my life now. I see it when I read essays or stories about people losing loved ones or having miscarriages. Those are the worst, the miscarriages. Oh my goodness how those hurt my heart. It's an awful thing to go through, loosing a baby. I can't imagine it but when I read those stories my empathetic heart opens up and I can't help but feel some of that pain.

I don't know why I'm so empathetic, it's just how I came. It's nice sometimes- I can see arguments from other's view points, I think about how others are affected by things a lot. It helps me to avoid awkward or rude circumstances. But at the same time... it doesn't.