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The Power of Partying

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Andrew WK is a professional partier. He's a professional partier on a mission to spread the party lifestyle around the US and around the world.  
It's not what you think.  

 It's not about headbanging (and getting a bangover), or doing the things that help people escape from their daily life (drugs, alcohol, vices and distractions).  Andrew WK wants everyone to reconnect with what it truly means to be alive and human. He wants everyone to step out from the darkness and choose to be in the light of hope, joy, possibilities.

 Last night was more than just attending a speaking engagement by a rock star (with him taking audience questions and staying until after midnight to talk to everyone, take photos, and sign stuff).  I think Andrew WK wanted to connect with everyone in the room and remind us of the joy in life.  

 I felt like a terrible audience member, but I took notes (via twitter) so I'd remember what he had said after the adrenaline had worn off.  Here's some of his gems: 
On this life:
  • "Getting to exist -- at all -- is the ultimate party"
  • "Hope is an activated, motivated belief in possibilities."
  • "I am here to serve this thing called JOY. It is counting on me. It is a part of a mission, a quest."
  • "Anything you do can be a part of...the ultimate quest to be a human being." (on even mundane tasks being part of a whole path)
  • "These hard times aren't necessarily bad times."
On connecting, evolving:
  • "I would like to be the invisible friend cheering you on."
  • "We can always get gooder."
  • "Sometimes your dreams dream you... Do you have the strength to rise to the opportunity?"
  • "We can no longer afford to squander these gifts... we cannot fix the world in a bad mood."
  • [Regarding my question on how to connect with people who you may not agree with, paraphrasing] Hold on to the glimmer of goodness we see in other people that makes you love them. Overflow them with love and invite them to the love, the party.
On coming from a bad place, having negative emotions, negative influences:
  • "Having a bad mood gave me something to push off against." (circa age 3)
  • "Negative people want us to doubt the legitimacy of joy."
  • "The naysayers... are just scared of letting things in their heart."
  • "Sometimes life is giving us this inner vitality by any means possible. Like pain. It is how we use it."
  • "Your mind floods your heart with all this distortion...."
  • "We are meant to party with our demons."
One of the people who asked a question was a girl, Alyssa, who talked to Andrew WK about how to find her identity and center after having lost her father a year ago. I could hear and see the anguish she was feeling, and I reached out my hand to her and she grabbed on to it. Later, I introduced myself and she said one of the more profoud things of the night -- that in that space, and in that moment, she felt able and supported to talk about her grief, fear, and vulnerability. Wouldn't it be amazing if we lived in a world where everyone knew that they could feel validation from another human being, from a room full of humans, actively being present for one another?

I've spent a lot of time both before and after the election thinking about the world. I've been called a "liberal femtard" and worse on Twitter. I've listened to people try to justify or condone a Trump presidency by saying we shoulod "wait and see" -- something John Oliver likened to a wombat flying a plane. I've listened to friends tell me how they're scared for themselves and their family about what could happen if their rights and protections are eroded (see list of places to donate below -- started by John Oliver as a reminder that the holiday season is a great time to make a donation to an organization that your bigoted friend/family member would hate).

I've spoken with some family and the more liberal ones are left trying to figure out how the more conservative ones could support a candidate that ran on a platform of hate, that could jeopardize the safety and future of people they love (either through changes in policy or because of the disgusting actions of many who believe their bigotry to be legitimized). I've spoken with my uncle and father as well about needing to fundamentally change the way my family relates to each other (less sitting around and talking/eating, more doing).

I'm going back to my roots -- my love of volunteerism -- to help me reconnect with my inner party, my joy. And as I've asked my dad, I'll invite you to help me be the radical shift towards love, towards joy, towards hope. I invite you to join me in this as much or as little as possible.

And if you don't know where to start, send me a message (fatgirlvsworld at gmail.com or on twitter @FatGirlvsWorld) and we can brainstorm together.

Planned Parenthood - plannedparenthood.org
Center for Reproductive Rights - reproductiverights.org
National Resources Defense Council - nrdc.org
International Refugee Assistance Project - refugeerights.org
NAACP Legal Defense Fund - naacpldf.org
The Trevor Project - thetrevorproject.org
Mexican-American Legal Defense Education Fund - maldef.org
American Humanist Association - americanhumanist.org

 My favorite places to volunteer/donate/invest: 



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<3 Robby