1. Dear family members,

    I know that I’m the one studying art history and you’re not, thus you are not as well-versed or even that amped about art/artists as I am. I get it, okay.

    But here’s the thing: I listen to you talk about all kinds of shit that I don’t care about. I listen to stories of distant relatives that I have never even met, stories about celebrities who were only relevant for a brief moment during the 1970’s, recipes for meals that you probably won’t prepare, co-workers that you hate, assholes you were forced to stand behind in line at the grocery store, and a number of other rudimentary and basic tales that enrich your life.

    I listen with fervor! I comment, “Ooh, you’re right! Potatoes would go really well in that” and “I don’t know why that man would be in the 10-15 items line knowing he has at least 20…” and “[insert weirdo relative name here] is always doing stuff like that, haha!” 

    I hang on your every word. You know why? Because it’s polite! Because I really like you, family. And because this story, no matter how trivial or how dated or how oft repeated, is important to you and I love watching your eyes light up as you tell it. 

    What really gets me though, is: when I bring up whatever artsy fact that I know, whatever artists I happen to be taken with today, whatever obscure/obvious/bizarre artistic reference that I happen to find, you all just nod and smile…and then move on. 

    THAT’S IT! No one asks me any questions! No one comments, “Oh, that sounds neat!” or “Did you learn about that in one of your classes?” or even (in spite of the fact that I usually detest this question), “Why on earth is that considered art?!” 

    You feign interest. You smile enough to let me know that you’ve heard me and then you drop the subject and move on with your conversation. Do you realize how frustrating that is?! To realize that no one, and I mean no one, in your family gives a flying shit about what you’ve spent the last 4 years of your life (and roughly $80,000) learning about. 

    Now, I’m not asking you to read the autobiography of Georgia O’Keefe. I don’t expect you to spring for tickets out to Utah to see Spiral Jetty, alright. I just want a little acknowledgement, a little recognition. I just want you to do me the same courtesy with my “boring wacky art shit” that I give you with your “boring adulthood corporate job shit.” Y’know?

    I mean, I know nothing about nuclear power or law enforcement or what it takes to run MOM’s Organic Market (nor do I fucking care) but I listen and I engage and I don’t let you sit there feeling like you are doing the most meaningless thing on the planet and everyone’s wishing that you’d just keep to yourself so that everyone else could have a good time. 

    Of course, I realize, this is not how you mean it. You’re probably not even aware that you’re doing it. But, I NOTICE! And I get frustrated. And then I write long posts about it on the internet…

    Ask questions. Be curious. Have conversations with me even if you don’t understand. I will be more than happy to explain to you what it is I’ve been doing with all of your money down at St. Mary’s. 

    2. Jan 14, 2012

    1. bcnnyl said: Word. I didn’t major in it, but was three credits short of an art history minor - it’s one of my favorite things to discuss. It’s sad and frustrating that no one seems to care or even feign interest in it. But when they do… they REALLY do. :)
    2. poison--paradigm reblogged this from likeghosts
    3. coffeewithants said: I just want to tell you that Passion Pit came on my Pandora as I was reading this, and Passion Pit always reminds me of you, so it was, like, a lot of Elena all over my brain.
    4. likeghosts posted this