Who will you notice?

There’s a little grassroots movement building on the interwebs, and it’s called The Noticer Project.

Basically, the idea behind TNP is to recognize five people – just five – who have had an impact on your life. You can do this by writing letters, posting on your blog, writing a note on Facebook or joining the Facebook group, posting to the official website, or any number of methods that you come up with yourself. It’s simply an opportunity to spread a little goodwill and gratitude to those who have influenced you.

I’ll admit that when I first heard about it, I thought it was a bit…hokey. But it has merit, and it’s possible that I avoided thinking about it because I didn’t particularly want to examine my life at that moment. Even though, right now, I TOTALLY NEED TO EXAMINE MY LIFE.

Ahem. That’s a post for another day, perhaps.

Another roadblock for me: I couldn’t think of five people right away. At first, this worried me. Shouldn’t anyone be able to immediately think of numerous people who have influenced them throughout their lives? Of course, my mind quickly went to family members. Wouldn’t I be a bad daughter/sister/granddaughter/niece/cousin if I didn’t recognize my family for their impact on me? For raising me and taking care of me and continuing to talk to me even though I voted for Obama? Family is an obvious choice, which is why I wanted to move beyond it. I’m always grateful for my family, but I see this project as a chance to look into other areas of your life where even small interactions or events have made a difference. Unless, of course, you really want to recognize certain family members, which is totally awesome.

So I thought of friends, teachers, coworkers, and various other people I’ve encountered over the years. I know a lot of remarkable people, and I’m very lucky to be where I am today (even when there are times I’d rather be somewhere else). I don’t want to leave anyone out, so maybe one day I’ll do an “Awesome People” post about people in my life who I think are, well, awesome. But for the purposes of this project, I finally chose five. And here they are, in somewhat chronological order:

Bronwyn. I think we met in the fourth grade. She was tall, had red hair and once lived in England, which is a country that holds a distinct fascination for me. We became friends, and she was probably the smartest person I had ever met. To this day, she remains one of the smartest people I have ever known. Not just smart, but bright and creative and fierce. Because of her, I experienced things – books, music, theatre – that I might never had encountered otherwise. Because of her, I performed on stage and discovered my love of acting. Because of her, I love the Beatles. Because of her, I have memories of middle and high school that I actually look back on fondly. Even though our friendship is not as strong now as it was then (but thank goodness for Facebook!), I will never forget what I learned from her, and how her influence shaped me in ways she probably never realized.

Mrs. Lux. She was my high school creative writing teacher. Creative writing was treated as an elective class, of course, and I loved writing, so it seemed natural to take this class (in fact, I took it twice). I was typically an extremely shy student – never volunteered information in class, never spoke or tried to answer questions. I didn’t like drawing attention to myself at age 14/15, because I didn’t like being wrong or looking dumb. In Mrs. Lux’s class, there was no wrong. I loved that we were given time just to write, or to daydream. Her classroom became a safe haven for me, and I quickly became one of her favorite students. I had never been anyone’s favorite student. I don’t think teachers really noticed me, until Mrs. Lux. She encouraged my writing, and her class was one of the few that didn’t cause me anxiety when I walked into the room. I still write today, in part because of her.

The Humanities Team. Okay, so technically my high school Humanities classes were taught by three people: Mr. McKinney, Mr. Murray, and Mr. Chase. Or as my friends and I called them, MurMcKCh. Humanities was another elective-type course, although I think you had take a test to be accepted, or something like that. Anyway, I guess it was for “smart” kids, and the course ran through both my freshman and sophomore years. These were the most creative two years of my life. MurMcKCh had a tag-team style, although they each taught certain subjects individually. It sort of felt like college in a high school setting – there was a lot of collaboration, special projects, and reading. I learned more about the world during my two years in Humantities than at any other point in my life. My eyes were opened to the Renaissance, Greek literature, architechture, history, travel, poetry, and so much more. I was challenged daily, and I had the BEST time. School was never a lot of fun for a quiet, shy, slightly dorky girl like me, but in Humanities, as in Creative Writing, I really felt like I belonged. And MurMcKCh provided that perfect balance of encouragement, irreverence, and humor that made me look forward to the class everyday.

Misty. My sweet Misty. A friend from college, although we didn’t really become friends until our junior year, when we were studying abroad in the London program (also some of the best months of my life). Misty is a firecracker, small and blonde and whipsmart. I am always amazed by her perspective on the world, the way she analyzes everything so deeply, the way she seems to have no fear. It’s difficult not to love Misty. She knows more about me than most, because I trust her (and I have a hard time fully trusting people), and she has never once made me feel judged (and I always feel judged). She’s been through some extremely rough patches over the years, has experienced hardships that I can’t imagine, but she perseveres and still remains a kind and generous person. Her determination is inspiring to me. Also, her wedding was one of the best I’ve ever been to.

Jon. He’s been a part of my life for more than a decade, and sometimes I think about what we’ve been through and I can’t believe we’re where we are now. I can’t even write about him without bursting into tears. I’m so, so lucky to have him, to be loved by him, to spend time with him. That’s all I can really say.

Okay, so those are mine. Who are yours?