Michelle decided today’s picture needed to be exciting. So, she proposed playing a game: Twister. Now, personally, I'm more of a fan of what I consider "thinking game" - Scategories, Bananagrams, Catch Phrase - or even "get to know the people you're playing with games" - Apples to Apples, Charades, or any of the Cranium offshoots.
However, Twister she said, so Twister it was. Here is the game in progress:
As I think about, though, perhaps Twister was the best choice to represent our lives at the moment. First, it really does seem at times that we have been thrown in a Twister what with trying to balance school, work, graduation, job searches, house hunts, pets, spiritual relationships, oh, and we're supposed to have social lives too? Needless to say, sometimes we feel (although we attempt to not look) as though we've been hit by a cyclone.
But there's also another aspect to this Twister (can) = life. As I watched Michelle and Sarah begin to play Twister, I started to notice something: they were both too nice.
Left hand, red
"Oh, ok, I'll stay on this half, you can have that half."
Right foot, green
"I'll put my foot here." "And then I can put mine here, perfect."
Watching this I realized two things: first, if they kept this up, we would have been here all night. And second, they didn't really understand the game. The idea of board games (at least the kind with winners) is to win - yes, having fun and maintaining relationships is important, so I'm not advocating for all-out cruelty, but strategy is part of what makes a game, a game.
My cousin, Kenny, taught me how to play Twister; his first lesson began when we played in elementary school and he promptly knocked me to the ground within the first five spins. I couldn't figure out how he had done it - it wasn't that he pushed me over, because he didn't; he just knew how to play the game. The secret to Twister is taking the places that are most convenient for those around you in an effort to catch them off guard, while maintaining your own balance. Done correctly, you can win almost every time.
The key words here are "almost every time" for inevitably you will come up against opponents bigger or stronger or more agile than you, or maybe one day you'll be tired and just fall. But this is where it's most like life, for there are no surefire rules or strategies to ensure success in life. There are means to getting one closer to success (such as going under opponents instead of over if you're shorter than they are), and these often come in the form of words of advice from loved ones, directions from a boss, or doors being opened (or shut firmly) by God. One thing I have learned is that no matter what, you have to learn to pay attention to these and learn how to play the game, the one we call life.
However, Twister she said, so Twister it was. Here is the game in progress:
 |
| Pose for the camera |
 |
| Zazie trying to play |
 |
| Attempted posing; Zazie just confused |
 |
| Closer to understanding how the game works |
As I think about, though, perhaps Twister was the best choice to represent our lives at the moment. First, it really does seem at times that we have been thrown in a Twister what with trying to balance school, work, graduation, job searches, house hunts, pets, spiritual relationships, oh, and we're supposed to have social lives too? Needless to say, sometimes we feel (although we attempt to not look) as though we've been hit by a cyclone.
But there's also another aspect to this Twister (can) = life. As I watched Michelle and Sarah begin to play Twister, I started to notice something: they were both too nice.
Left hand, red
"Oh, ok, I'll stay on this half, you can have that half."
Right foot, green
"I'll put my foot here." "And then I can put mine here, perfect."
Watching this I realized two things: first, if they kept this up, we would have been here all night. And second, they didn't really understand the game. The idea of board games (at least the kind with winners) is to win - yes, having fun and maintaining relationships is important, so I'm not advocating for all-out cruelty, but strategy is part of what makes a game, a game.
My cousin, Kenny, taught me how to play Twister; his first lesson began when we played in elementary school and he promptly knocked me to the ground within the first five spins. I couldn't figure out how he had done it - it wasn't that he pushed me over, because he didn't; he just knew how to play the game. The secret to Twister is taking the places that are most convenient for those around you in an effort to catch them off guard, while maintaining your own balance. Done correctly, you can win almost every time.
The key words here are "almost every time" for inevitably you will come up against opponents bigger or stronger or more agile than you, or maybe one day you'll be tired and just fall. But this is where it's most like life, for there are no surefire rules or strategies to ensure success in life. There are means to getting one closer to success (such as going under opponents instead of over if you're shorter than they are), and these often come in the form of words of advice from loved ones, directions from a boss, or doors being opened (or shut firmly) by God. One thing I have learned is that no matter what, you have to learn to pay attention to these and learn how to play the game, the one we call life.
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