The Mets, Shelter Dogs, and Orphaned Possibilities, By Brianne Villano

The struggle to break free from societal norms is a great one. As a child, you are brought up in such a way that the rules of the house you are raised in become law. You’re taught what to believe, what to study, how to act, what to want; the list is endless.

But what if you had the opportunity to shatter previously assumed notions of what your life is supposed to be like? My friend Ty plays a part in that equation by using his blog as a platform to discuss ways in which he uses his own personalized skill set to break away from what’s perceived as ”normal,” so I have decided to share something that’s close to my heart for my “Auguest” post on Ty’s blog, TooXYZ.

I’m a Mets fan. Ok, that’s not what I wanted to share, but it’s all a part of the set-up so bear with me.

By stating that I’m a Mets fan I’m letting you know that I am loyal to people not because they may be the top players in their field, but because of their love of the game and the potential they have. “Potential” has many meanings but the one I focus on is unfulfilled possibility.

Mets games are like giant family reunions: everyone is glad to see you and the event is just a catalyst for the interpersonal interaction. The best part about the games are not the sport itself (some sports fans may disagree with me), but the communication and feelings that arise during the course of the game.

I’m also a Mom to a shelter dog. Shelter dogs exude unfulfilled possibilities. They are filled with anxiety and fear and often have behavioral issues that stem back to their own infancy, but if you’ve ever looked into the eyes of that dog, you can see the beautiful soul that lives inside and yearns to break free.

These animals may never have been shown affection or love. They may not know what it feels like to belong to another living creature. The unfulfilled possibility that exists in a shelter dog to become part of your life and part of your family, however, is very real. That small possibility, that spark that can turn their life of potential energy into one of kinetic energy, is what it’s all about for me.

Now onto the main event. I do not want to have children. Let me rephrase that to be clear. I do not want to give birth to children. There is unfulfilled possibility in each and every orphaned child in our country and abroad and each one of them deserves a catalyst.

I don’t pretend to lead the perfect life (not that such a generic thing exists), nor do I pretend to be a savior for people and animals deemed “broken.”

I do, however, know that I would always show them an open mind, an open heart, and open arms so that they may someday realize their potential and turn around to pay it forward.

As a scientist, you might think I’d want to preserve my DNA in a future generation and carry on my family’s line. Instead, I think the line of thinking that I’d like to instill in future generations is more important than the DNA behind it.

In reality, I believe the planet is just a tad overpopulated and if we would institute recycling in its most basic, yet complex, form, we would all benefit from the connections we could forge to one another and the message we could send to future generations.

Is that too TooXYZ? Am I an anomaly? I’ll let you be the judge of that.

Brianne Villano writes and publishes Living Out Loud. She can be followed on Twitter @Brianne Villano.