Terracotta roofs mirror the layers of feelings, experiences, and realizations that occurred within and without me while I was in Toulouse, France for 2 weeks.
Cobblestone or brick streets and walkways, ancient buildings were so beautiful and flourished with design. It wasn't revealed to me well on into the second week that even this beautiful city has its dark side too. Conformity to provide a certain "look" or "appeal" was there in the sameness of all of the buildings having pretty balconies, terracotta roofing, college kids desiring to "fit in" by wearing chic blacks and grays when they are going out to "get away" from daily duties. However, I also realized, especially on the last day, that there is a reason for many of these things, and when I place myself in their shoes (as best I can) I come to find a pride in their history and oneness. In order to preserve the beauty of much of the architecture, rules are created to prevent them from being altered (ex. - same colored shutters on each window).
In some ways I sympathize with this type of mindset and in others I want to share what possibilities there are for change. It's also not up to me to change others; unless how I live my life inspires them to change, I believe you can't make people change. They’d have to want it for themselves. Of course, I love Toulouse for what it is, I also love Atlanta for what it is. I also enjoy imagining what it (Atlanta, Toulouse, the world) can become because things are always changing and shifting whether we want them to or not. I never get bored. =)
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