Day 11 of the #Trust30 writing project- Write down in which areas of your life you have to overcome these suicidal tendencies of imitation, and how you can transform them into a newborn you – one that doesn’t hide its uniqueness, but thrives on it. There is a “divine idea which each of us represents” – which is yours?

Being a creative, I am always looking for inspiration in everything around me, whether it’s what I am cooking or half-cocked idea I’m thinking of developing into reality. They use to say that ‘imitation is the highest form of flattery’ but is it that or just a way for our own thoughts and ideas to commit suicide.

For years I have been killing myself. Trying to fit in and adapt to what is hip, cool, etc. The high school syndrome if you will. It’s taken a while, but I am starting to finally feel comfortable at being me. Wow, only took how many years?! 32 If I have to list the areas out like the prompt says, then let’s start.

• Clothes
• Culinary
• “Gadgets”

Clothes harkens back to the high school syndrome that I mentioned earlier. Fashions are always changing, but mine really hadn’t changed at all in 18 years. Trying to update myself has ended up with a closet full of clothes that don’t really fit anymore or don’t get worn. Thankfully I’m on a healthy streak at the moment and should be able to start fitting into those again by the time cooler weather rolls back around. Lesson learned- Just be yourself and who cares what others think about your clothes.

Out of our group of friends, I am the go to gourmet, with one exception that I gladly bow down to. (You know who you are.) When it comes to cooking we can always follow recipes and modify them a bit to make them our own. However, it’s truly art when we develop our own recipes and share them with others. That’s what I am trying to do right now with a side project I have going on under the table. I can’t mention too much about it, but if you know me, then you probably have an idea what it encompasses.

We all need more toys…right? After years of being a materialist, I am learning that we really don’t NEED things that we THINK we need. In an effort to declutter my life, I am posed with this dilemma everyday. Do I really need this or that? Is there something else I own that can do the same thing, but perhaps not as quickly or flashier? Just because Jim Bob bought the new iPad 2 just a week after purchasing the original iPad doesn’t mean that I need to get one too. Ooooohhh! They’re releasing a new Wii! I NEED to get it! At this point I’m pretty much over it. The way funds and the economy are these days, I have to make my hardware last as long as possible. Having said that, we just got iPhone 4′s a week or so ago so that we could actually make calls if the wife wen in to labor. For the record, we’ve had iPhone 3G’s, not 3GS’, for almost 3 years. It was time to upgrade. That is acceptable. On a side note, being a materialist, I have always held onto old tech and repurposed it. These days I am donating, selling or giving away old tech. We’ll see if I can make a little diaper money on the side.

I may not have fully delved into the real topic of this article, but as I see it, I have touched on it enough to just touch the tip of the iceberg.