My Sister Peyton
It’s been a while! I took a break from writing for a couple weeks for midterms. Today, despite the constant whirlwind of political calamity I could comment on or whatever, I’d rather diverge and talk about how cool my sister is.
My eighteen-year-old sister Peyton visited me this weekend for kind of the first time ever (without the rest of my family). I think (I hope) she had a good time, despite the overwhelmingness that is a 60,000-student state school. In 48 hours we mostly went thrifting, but also read on the Oval and went out with my roommates. Scratch that–we mostly spent time walking from place-to-place, because I don’t realize how many “normal” thirty-minute walks I do until I have someone else with me to complain about them. 🙂 I also probably spent more money in food in the last two days than I have in the last few weeks — but hole-in-the-wall Chinese food and old-fashioned diner brunch is always worth it.
Peyton goes to school at Northern Kentucky University (where my dad also works) and is studying Biology. She’s majorly interested in animals and wants to take care of animals in a zoo someday. She’s been a vegetarian since she was six and has recently tried to go vegan, but that sounds like a nightmare to me and I don’t know how long it will last…
One of her other passions includes makeup, especially special FX makeup, which she is REALLY good at (as most of you probably know), so here’s a plug for her YouTube channel and Instagram! She can pull off a dark lip better than anyone I know. She did the the makeup for most theater productions in high school, but she’s also interested in theater set design, and won a Cappy award in high school for her set design/construction in Godspell last year.
She also loves murder mysteries and is always trying to get me to watch scary movies with her (no thanks). She has the best taste in music, and my taste in music is usually a result of what’s she’s listening to first. Most of her Snapchat videos are of our cat, Theo–you can see more pics of Theo on Theo’s Instagram, @theo_thekitten (because Peyton is obsessed, but rightfully so–Theo is a badass diva).
Peyton is talkative, blunt, and witty. She’s talented, sensitive, and passionate. I definitely don’t tell her enough what an amazing person she is, but having her here over the weekend, watching her interact with my place and my people, reminded me of it. Love ya, sis!
Other things that are cool lately (but not as cool as Peyton):
It took me less than two days to read John Green’s new book, Turtles All the Way Down. READ IT, even if you’re a post-teen like me who’s wondering whether you should keep reading teen fiction. As an English major, I should be reading more Milton or something, but fuck it because I love John Green and his fondness for melodramatic teenage existentialism.
But I did also buy White Teeth by Zadie Smith because I feel the pressure to understand the obsession of “one of this generation’s most vital literary voices.” As NYT writer Jeffrey Eugenides notes, he still “lives in [her books’] shadow world” long after he’s finished reading. Well shit. Updates later, probably after I’m five of her books deep.
Last night I saw the one and only LESLIE ODOM JR. speak/sing/be incredible!! OSU’s activity board brings famous people to come speak every week or so, and Leslie was this week’s event. He did a thirty or forty minute set of jazz covers from his new album as well as, of course, Hamilton songs (he rapped [Daveed Diggs’s] Thomas Jefferson’s lines from “The Room Where It Happens” and now I’m convinced he could slay any and every role in that show). Then he sat down for a Q&A where he told funny stories about fame, his time at Hamilton, his path to success, and the projects he’s excited about now. It’s absolutely refreshing to listen to someone who’s so passionate about their art express it so humbly and kindly. He spoke about how Hamilton is a musical that, in and of itself, speaks volumes about our current political and social climate. He also touched on how he learned to never sit around, waiting for success to happen to him, because someone who outworks him could run laps around his “talent.” Lastly, he mentioned the (good) pressure he feels to lead by example, promoting passion and positivity from this platform he’s been given. What an incredible person!
Lastly: Thanksgiving is only a month away today, I’m visiting Rebecca in Savannah in a week and a half, and I schedule my classes today for my semester in London! In the day-to-day, I’m still enjoying classes, writing, reading, and living with the best roommates.
See ya next week!
