A Doug Cartoon

On Wednesday after our wonderful last meal, some of us met at the Pompidou to see the opening of the Lichtenstein exhibit. It was awesome, and a great way to end the trip! Before going into the museum Luke, Leah and I were standing in the large quart yard in front of the entrance. A guy came up to Luke and said something like “you got a funny face…good for drawing”, and after an uncomfortable laugh we decided it would be a good idea to get caricatures. Luke got his “portrait” done first and he ended up looking like Fabio and Thor mixed with Woody Allen! It was pretty great. I was persuaded to go next, and so I sat in front of the little Parisian artist, trying to smile as he captured my face in a rather crude and deformed manner. I looked like a fat frat bro mixed with a chipmunk (pretty accurate, no?). As I looked at the enlarged cartoon of my face, and feeling a little queasy from the beef tartar, I realized I would forever be American, and a goofy American at that! There is no point in trying to be French. All that maters is respecting French humanity, and immersing ones in their culture to the point where a critical moment of human aptitude arises—the moment when you can make friends with a culture outside your own. I learned to always be myself, and to do everything in my power to learn from other’s personalities in order to help my own personality grow. It has been a beautiful journey, and I will forever remember the spellbinding sights of the city of lights! Thanks so much for the memories and the laughs! I have learned and grown more then I ever expected!