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When I was younger my favorite bird was the starling, or more commonly known as the blackbird.  I just loved their dark color and the almost iridescent appearance their feathers took on at the tips of their wings.  To me, this was shiny and sparkly and well, who wouldn’t love a sparkly bird!?

It was then pointed out to me that these birds were a nuisance, not pretty show birds and that I shouldn’t like them.  So I set my sights on the bold cardinal in his brilliant red and the sweet, but rarely seen bluebird.  I appreciated the speckled coat of the woodpecker and the playful yellow of the finch.  But secretly, I still always liked it when Mr. Blackbird landed in my yard.

How often do we do this?  How often do we stop liking something simply because someone tells us that it isn’t “cool”?  Guilty – right here, point the finger at me!

One of the interesting things about working from home is the way you form ideas and opinions.  There’s no one here to tell me my idea blows or that I shouldn’t consider something.  There’s no one here at all.  So when I come across something I love, I’m free to love it without any judgment passed.  Working in my own personal space allows me to be me.  Then I step outside of my little bubble and am sometimes hit with the harsh reality that my idea is a little crazy.  But I’ve psyched myself up all day about it. So I either re-evaluate and either drop it or stick with my gut.  Ultimately though, it is my decision.

I’m probably not going to take up bird watching anytime soon, and I’ve definitely started loving lots of other birds and their “not shiny” feathers.  Even as I was looking for a picture to go with this post (because sadly I didn’t have anything in my portfolio with blackbirds, ha!), the words “pest” and “how to get rid of blackbirds” were displayed first and foremost across Google’s results.   But sometimes you can find beauty in even the peskiest things.  So I think we should always remember to keep ourselves happy and don’t be afraid of standing up for what we like, there’s beauty in that too.