je pense que...

ok... don't ask me if that is gramatically correct. it's been five years since i took french, and little words and phrases jumble through my mind at astonishing speeds sometimes... so there's no guarantee that's right...

but i think that it says, "i think that..."

and it's been bouncing around in my head this morning. i've always wanted to be proficient in another language, but never had the patience to get there. i love words and how they're related. even words from two entirely different languages can have connections, historically and emotionally. certain words are attached to the heartstrings of a person... this is goofy, but i think of the disney movie "lilo and stitch", and how i was so moved by that fuzzy little blue thing saying, "lost". it brought tears up from deep down. how odd.

so "je pense..." that it's cool how english and french are connected in that word... "pense" to "pensive"... and of course pensive in english means thoughtful and a little more. more like hesitant, or brooding... and brooding seems tres french to me. =)

i would like to become a master of dialects, and accents and be able to simply slip into a character by picking a nationality. i think it's amazing how a simple mechanism like that, or a costume or prop, or a simple breathing technique and a phrase can transport an actor into another world. we have such power beneath these fragile bodies.

i'm taking general psychology this semester, and i'm eager to learn about that power of the mind... i've always been fascinated by stories of people who achieve great things against greater odds... maybe i'm just a big sap, but maybe it's also because i am awed by the potential we are all endowed with. potential... there's a word for another day.

my baby brother, and my now 21 year old brother are leaving for college in a week or so, accompanied by my parents. seeing ian get ready for his freshman year places me in a mental time warp that's not entirely unpleasant. it's hard not to be excited when you see him planning and dreaming about his first year at university. i think that, the only constant things in life are change and the Unchangeable - God. seeing these young men, my little brothers, cross into a life less shared by family, becoming adults is a reminder of that. and our love for eachother - a gift from the Unchangeable will remain.