what-is-special

[what-is-special]

An introduction to what is Special

Anything can be important or significant, either if it is a place, a person, or an object. But it can not be significant for everybody, it doesn’t necessarily sparkle in everyone’s eye. It is important when it has meaning, and it is not the case for everybody. It holds meaning for someone when that someone links it to something in their life.

For instance, when my friend turned 18 she received one of the best presents ever, her mother gave her a ring, which had been passed from generation to generation in her family. So, it illustrates the power that a small object can have on our lives and on future generations. 

In this blog, we have each displayed a place, a person, and an object. They all appear ordinary but our objective is to attempt to describe them from our perspective and give you a glimpse of what makes those things Special to us.

[what-is-special]

Emma’s Special Place

La Grande-Motte is a city by the Mediterranean Sea where I used to go with my family every single summer for as long as I can remember. The reason we went is because my grand-parents have an apartment there, which is facing the sea and gives an almost direct access to the beach.

The last week of August of every year, my parents, my now 21-year-old sister and I would go there, and sometimes my grand-parents would be there too.

My sister and I used to have the time of our lives there ! We would wake up and eat breakfast with the seagulls flying above us on the balcony, we would ride the waves and play in the sand all afternoon, have ice cream at 5 pm and jump around in inflatable structures on the beach, to finally end the day at the restaurant with a sunset on the sea as a view.

Unfortunately, as life goes on, my sister and I started having our own plans for the summer and some changes happened in the family, which made this habit slowly fade away (just like the sun under the sea at sunset).

When we happen to go back now, it’s not the same anymore, obviously. And I get filled with nostalgia when I think about this place. In short, we’ve changed and the place seems to have changed too, from my own perspective at least.

I now link La Grande-Motte to what we can call the good old days. It will always have a Special place in my heart.

Emma G

[what-is-special]

My Special Place - the Cirque de Gavarnie

I thought that no matter where I go, the place was special because of its beauty in my eyes. For example, I love going to libraries especially to second-hand booksellers by myself or with friends. However, these places are special to me not because of the people that are in it but because of what we can find when we go in. This is why books are my Special Objects. 

Lately, I have been thinking about a place, in particular, the Cirque de Gavarnie, a cirque in the central Pyrenees in Southwestern France close to the border of Spain, such a wonderful place. 

I believe to know the reason I cannot forget this place and why it became so Special. At the end of the summer, with some friends, including GG, of course, her brother and his best friend. We decided to go on a Road Trip on a whim. We talked about doing something spontaneous on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon we decided to pack a few things and we left on Thursday morning. Therefore, we knew we wanted to go South and we flipped a coin to choose if we should go West or East. Then, fate decided on the Southwestern of France where the Cirque de Gavarnie is. All I can say is that those were amazing with a few twists and turns like we almost slept in the car. 

I also forgot the fact that the four of us have the same taste in music, we listened to Aretha Franklin, The Ronettes, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Elton John, Jacques Brel, Charles Aznavour, Edith Piaf, and of course more recent artists like Stromae, One Direction and many others. But the two songs that stuck with us are I want to know what Love is by Foreigner and Beggin by Madcon. 

Before this trip, I knew I loved my friends even if we were not this close. Now I know that no matter the place where I am or where I go, the people that I am with make it Special. 

C. Dana

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Emma’s Significant person

A person that is significant to me would be someone from my family. When we visit the kingdom of Mickey Mouse together, her smile goes to her ears, she waves to every disney mascot we see, and most importantly she wears all of the Disney clothing that she has in her possession, from the sweat-shirt to the gloves, including the bag and the earrings. I’m talking about my mother here. Indeed, everytime we go to Disneyland Paris, she becomes a child again. She’s just as excited as my sister and I when we are there, if not more. It really makes her child’s soul shine through. That’s one of the things that makes her Special to me.

And if I look at her from another angle, I see her more like a warrior. Indeed, I find her to have a strong mentality. She never gives up and has always overcome the obstacles in her way, with or without help. All that she has, she owned it, and she is still today putting in the efforts to carry out her projects. 

I admire her energy. I feel like if I were her age, I wouldn't be as full of life and as determined as she is. I’m definitely more of the type to give up easily and to sit back and wait for things to happen. So she's a model for me on that point.

I’m also fascinated by her ability to create human connection anywhere she goes, and by her inability to use her phone properly.

Emma G

[what-is-special]

My Significant Person - GG

I do not have just a Special Someone in my life, at least not at the moment. I love my beautiful family, my wonderful friends, and I even admire some people who do not know I exist. This is why I struggled to choose. 

I have decided to pick my friend GG that is pretty Special to me, I have known her since I was like 9 but we became close friends last year because she is four years older than me. She has the audacity to call me “baby”, the worst nickname in my opinion. But the fact that if one day someone has the guts to call me that I will despise them since she is the only person I tolerate to call me that.

She is too good for this world and she is Special to me because no matter how bad I end up doing things, I will not feel judged by her. She listens and encourages me, rather than tell me “I have told you” even if I deserve it. 

I told her last week about this project “My Significant Person”, she was pretty surprised and happy but no I will not show her this post. 

C. Dana 

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My Special Object - “Book”

The first time I heard about The Catcher in the Rye written by J. D. Salinger was in a show called “Criminal Minds” that I started watching this summer. I did not have planned to buy or even read the book. 

This is when things got really interesting at least from my own perspective. A few weeks ago, I went to several English libraries at Saint-Michel, in Paris with a friend. I was helping her looking for a book when I found it, at the bottom of a shelf among a few other old books. All were looking damaged, so I bought it. 

I love forgotten books, feels like holding the past into your hands, and knowing that the book I am reading belonged once to someone else makes me feel Special. 

C. Dana

[what-is-special]

Emma’s Special Object

This is my ukulele.

He is a soprano size Hricane model.

My father gifted him to me for my 19th birthday, because I play the piano at his house but I wanted to be able to keep playing some music when I’m in my small studio on my campus residence, so the small size of a ukulele was perfect.

Among other things, he has a body, a neck, a headstock, 4 strings and a sound hole, inside of which secret things can be hidden, and even spiders like to crawl down there and it makes a great home for them. He also wears a cute flowery hat sticker, which makes him stand out from other models of ukulele like him.

Also, I use him as an instrument and strum the strings, which makes a pleasant sound. I am in no way a professional musician but I really enjoy playing because it’s an efficient and nice way to relax and a great distraction from stress.

About his personality : he can sometimes be harsh and hurt the tips of my fingers, but most of the time he is really comforting and lovable.

Emma G