Hating dolphins is not a good look.

I used to think I hated dolphins. I know, what a bitch right?  Who hates dolphins? But wait- I grew up in Vermont (no actual dolphins), and I always associated them with this one friend/not friend I had in middle school who had a GIANT pastel dolphins jumping through rainbows poster in her room. She pulled a real mean girl move on me at a slumber party; I decided I hated her; and the dolphins got caught in the crossfire. So I went through life rolling my eyes at every photoshopped pod of porpoises and their tacky shallow woo woo that I wanted no part of.

Then I saw REAL WILD DOLPHINS.

At the rocky tide pools in Puna, I just happened to be staring at the exact spot where one jumped just off shore. It was so playful and sparkling and just SO BEAUTIFUL it made me shriek out loud. For the next ten minutes I kept seeing it again and again, but somehow my sister was always looking away so I’m pretty sure she thought I was on something until she saw it too and for the next 45 minutes a small pod of them put on a show for us that was the closest thing to magic I have ever seen. They KNEW we were watching. My face heart from smiling. I was squealing and laughing. I definitely cried.

I went from a dolphin cynic to an open hearted adorer in a moment when I saw the real thing. Now I understand what all those airbrushed rainbows and hearts were trying to show.  Sometimes you can get your point across to an audience. Sometimes they have to have been there to know where you are coming from.
Change is possible, and loving is way more fun. Hope your week has some hearts and rainbows. I hope you make some noise and some messes. ❤️

p.s. I am back in the studio working on my VT Arts Council project this week- arranging with Moira Smiley who is definitely a rainbow. Also- Glennon Doyle's "We Can Do Hard Things" podcast is one of the best things to have happened to me, and I had heard about it like 25 times before I finally gave it a listen. I didn't think I liked podcasts and now I am SO hooked. Kind of a dolphin throwback there. Check it out if smart kind humans talking to other smart kind humans sounds like it might be your thing.