One Art

A few years ago, in my AP English class my junior year, I had to memorize an Elizabeth Bishop poem. Lately, I've been remembering some of the lines from it. I love her outlook on loss because I can relate to the rationalization and the refusal to think of it as "disaster". 

One Art by Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn't hard to master;

so many things  seem filled with the intent

to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something everyday. Accept the fluster

of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.

The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:

places, and names, and where it was you meant 

to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! My last, or 

next-to-last, of three loved houses went. 

The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster, 

some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent. 

I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.

---Even losing you (the joking laugh, a gesture 

I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident 

the art of losing's not too hard to master 

though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

The Classy Woman

Women are always posting blogs about finding the perfect man and what not, but what about the guys? Is there no perfect women for them? These days it is considered better that the woman dominate the man. That it's ok if she pushes him around. It's ok if the woman curses and is proud of her sins. The modern girl can get away with flirting with guys even though she doesn't like them. Women are viewed as objects and treat their bodies as such. They undermind their own intelligence and allow men to do the same. They treat their boyfriends and husbands as if their opinions are fruitless and whine when he wants to spend just a little time with his guy friends. What happened to the real woman? The classy woman. The woman that held herself to a higher standard. What happened to the woman that made men feel like men and gave them their dignity. We cry about not having a real man when we are the ones crippling them. By doing their job and not being patient, we're forcing them to be neglegent. What happened to the woman that knew how special she was but knew her place, too? Where is the woman that has true self confidence and, if not, strives for it? Granted, we don't have the best examples in the media but there must be some woman out there that is willing to humble herself enough to understand her own worth. Where are the classy women? Why are they gone? What can we do to bring them back? They were here. They are here. When will they be found? Find them. Tell them how valued they are. They are a rare breed. Appreciate that they are in your life.