A Puzzling Post

I'm done yet another semester of school.  It feels pretty good.  With all of this new found free time, I decided to come check on my blog.  After wiping all the dust off of it, I realized that I qualified for a blogging award.  So I made one and then gave it to myself.  I feel pretty special.

It took me a while to qualify for such a prestigious award.  I had to completely neglect my blog for almost an entire semester.  And then when worst came to worst, I did something really lame, like exploit all my readers for homework purposes.  I'm a winner.  And I'm not selfish.  Feel free to award this to any other lucky, qualifying bloggers.

Anyways, after such a dry spell of posts I feel almost sheepish to begin blogging again.  Do I even have anything good to say?  I guess I can start with just a simple little realization I came to the other day.  That might be worth reading about.

I am a puzzle.

Not like a brain teaser, word puzzle or riddle; I am a giant jigsaw puzzle.  Like this...

I am made up of pieces.  Some pieces are big, some are really little.  They all fit together making a picture; which is me.

The pieces are people.

Obviously, this handsome devil makes up a very large piece...

And same with all of these people...

But the point isn't about having a puzzle composed of a few big pieces.  As important as those big pieces are, you need to branch out and find more.  Otherwise you end up being a puzzle like this...

x

And everyone knows that puzzles made of a few big pieces are for kids.

For the longest time, I have been afraid of making real relationships, puzzle piece worthy relationships.  In order to protect myself, I hid under the guises of nonchalance and aloofness, and thus remained nothing more than a simple, big piece puzzle.

Fortunately, somewhere along the road of growing up, my fear subsided and new pieces have begun to appear in my puzzle.  And the best part is, I can feel myself becoming a much more well-rounded and complex individual - something that never would have occurred had I kept myself hostage and remained nothing more than a few big pieces.

I once had a friend tell me that my theme song is "I am a Rock" by Simon and Garfunkel.  I was proud to be given such a compliment of independence and self-sufficiency.  However, now I realize that a rock is nothing more than one piece, and that one piece is pretty boring and lonely.  

I have realized that in order to live the fullest life, it is best to break yourself down into as many pieces as possible.  But how? 

Allow people into your life so that they can form a new piece.

Allow yourself to reach out to people and bring them in as a new piece.

Allow people to make the puzzle of you more complex and interesting.

I am a firm believer that this life of mine is one where I am to grow and blossom into the best Kristen I can be.  And I'm beginning to realize that the best Kristen I can be is one touched and influenced by the remarkable lives, talents, and thoughts of others.  A life filled with the colorful pieces of hundreds of unique and colorful people is a much better life than that of one cold grey rock.  I am so grateful for the pieces of my puzzle.