I Am Polyglot

What is a polyglot, you ask?

 The real definition is "a person having a speaking, reading, or writing knowledge of several languages; a mixture or confusion of languages".  Although I speak English fluently, elementary "denglish" (German-English), and a smattering of Greek, Italian, and Amharic words, I hardly qualify for the literal interpretation.
 Thankfully, what matters more in language than strict definition is its essence and malleability. Enter Polyglot.

 I speak many "languages", and have apparently devoted my life to learning as many of them as possible.  When I was a child, like so many, I knew I would be a Christian singer.  I was in all kinds of choirs all through school, but pretty well gave up music on entering college.  I went for what I was solidly good at, and that was English.  Having a mother who taught me to read and write at home and being an avid reader and decent writer, I decided that would be the best route.  I studied Shakespeare and poetry and classic literature, dissecting and analyzing the writers' intent and writing some fairly solid essays from various literary angles.  I thought I would be an English teacher, but changed my mind. 

Five years later, following major life events, I went back to school again, this time to learn everything I could about singing and music so that I would have no excuses before God for burying my talent.  I learned piano, took voice lessons, learned sightsinging and ear training, music theory, sang in The Messiah, developed and honed my skill in songwriting, and started beginning guitar lessons.  I even learned how to conduct a choir.  I immediately went to Nashville after graduation to become the singer/songwriter I had studied to be.  While I did get to perform a gig there with my original songs, the music scene there just wasn't me.  I left and moved to Austin.  I had loved Austin from visiting, and felt that all I needed was its more eclectic music scene to become the singer I should be.

Although I came here for music, I immediately started working with fashion at Nordstrom.  I faithfully read my textbooks of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, required reading for all fashion experts.  I have been learning the fashion in all of the departments, and can pretty well wardrobe a client with creativity and expertise, whether they're Jack Sprat or his wife.  My future ambition is to design a fair-trade couture gown line that incorporates indigenous designs and motifs from the women of other countries like India and Ethiopia.  How that will materialize I don't know, but the idea is germinating nonetheless.

Aside from career ambitions, I have been a bridal consultant, and know everything there is to know about veils, trains, and bustles.  I have been an assistant buyer for a bridal salon, outfitted men in tuxedos, carefully worded wedding invitations, and mediated between mothers, daughters, and bridesmaids. 

I have read Bobbi Brown and Kevyn Aucoin and know how to paint a decent face.  I can create classic makeup looks or rather "out there" fantasy designs.  I even studied theatre makeup and can make an adolescent look old or turn a dame into a gent. 

I have tutored a Mexican lady in English reading and writing, and tended to lonely cats and dogs in a shelter. 

I have studied interior design in school and can make any space look its best, be it a living room or a window display.  My current apartment reflects this, although limited by budget. 

And don't forget, I have studied ballroom dancing, and know all the basics--Waltz, tango, foxtrot, two-step, cha-cha, rhumba, swing, and even Jewish folk dancing and belly dancing.  I love dancing, and although I've rarely gotten beyond advanced beginner, I hope to someday dance with the President and foreign dignitaries.

I have been a barista on and off for years and can make a cup of java that will satisfy your heart's desire. 

I have traveled all over the world, from Ethiopia to Switzerland to Italy to Alaska. There are still so many, many places I want to explore and experience on this little earth before I go to heaven. 

I can make soap.  I can emboss cards.  I can cook dishes that send you back for seconds or thirds.  I can rock-climb and belay.  I can climb a mountain, just God and me. 

It seems that every time I have an idea of what I am or who I am to become, it morphs.  I am neither this nor that, but am also this and that, a "mixture of languages".  I am trying to see that my life is not linear, but a great big ball of "all things working together for good to those who love Him...called according to His purpose".  I have yet to see how it all comes together, but trust that God will mold what He's got--a polyglot.