in which I move to tumblr (I think)

I've decided to continue the Watermelon Shirt Type over on Tumblr. I think this will lead to more posts (and also the ease of reposting things that I like and that you might like, too), and less feeling that I need to "sit down and write a blog post," and the community aspect is pretty neat. (Yes, I call things "neat." You can take a lady out of the Midwest, etc.)

But before I go -- a word about the origin of the watermelon shirt, since I told a friend I'd write a post about the name.

Photo: Fall 2009, Nashville, TN -- taken during the trip that inspired my Ridin' the Dawg manuscript.

This is the watermelon shirt. I tie-dyed it myself at an event at Sarah Lawrence, sometime in the spring of 2009 (I think that's right). The seeds are drawn on with Sharpie. It is remarkably un-hip, and is hence one of my very favorite articles of clothing.

Last spring, my boyfriend at the time and I were getting ready to meet up with a new friend, and I was rummaging through the drawers of my ugly green dresser, trying to decide what to wear. After casting aside a few rejected t-shirts, I came across the watermelon shirt, which had fallen to the bottom of my drawer during the winter. I picked it up and looked at it for a moment, and considered.

"She seems like the watermelon shirt type," I said of my new friend, correctly assessing that if she was the kind of person who would appreciate the watermelon shirt, our friendship was much more likely to last. I decided to wear the watermelon shirt.

I think, though, that the idea of "the watermelon shirt type" has also come to refer to the best version of myself -- the person that I want to be, but so far have only managed to be on a part-time basis. This person is brave and completely unconcerned with anyone else's opinion, often to the point of being unapologetically (not tragically) un-hip. This person does things that brings her and the people around her joy, and doesn't get bogged down with the details of adulthood. This person manages stress well, does not shy from confrontation when necessary, and is an open-hearted, fearlessly vulnerable communicator. 

Hence: The Watermelon Shirt Type.