I Am Changing...

Dreamgirls + Dreams Do Come True

First, thank you to all who shared your experiences and stories after my post about finding my light about battling anxiety, depression, and grief for the last few years.

Your love and support mean more than words can express.

While this bear is not out of the cave quite yet, I have been channeling my inner Effie White, singing along to “I Am Changing” from Dreamgirls, as I take care of business…in a flash.

Out of an abundance of caution (for your hearing), I’ll keep my rendition to myself. But the Effie Whites of stage and screen: Jennifer Holliday and Jennifer Hudson.

If you had told me a week ago that I would make more progress in just a few days than I have in months—if not years—I wouldn’t have believed you.

The lyrics of “I Am Changing” express how I feel better than I ever could:

"I Am Changing"
from Dreamgirls: Original Broadway Cast Album
+ Dreamgirls (Music from the Motion Picture)
Written by Tom Eyen + Henry D. Krieger

Look at me
Look at me

I am changing, trying every way I can
I am changing, I'll be better than I am
I'm trying to find a way to understand
But I need you, I need you
I need a hand

I am changing, seeing everything so clear
I am changing, I am going to start right now, right here
I am hoping to work it out, and I know that I can
But I need you, I need a hand

All my life, I've been a fool
Who said I could do it all alone
How many good friends have I already lost
How many dark nights have I known

Walking down that wrong road
There was nothing I could find
All those years of darkness
Can make a person blind
But now I can see

I am changing, trying every way I can
I am changing, I'll be better than I am
But I need a friend, to help me start all over again
Oh, that would be just fine
'Cause this time I am, this time I am
I am changing, gonna get my life together now
I am changing, yes, I know how
I'm going to start again, I'm leaving my past behind
I'll change my life, I'll make a vow
And nothing's going to stop me now

“All those years of darkness/Can make a person blind/But now I can see.”

Can’t stop…won’t stop…changing.

Thank you for being a friend!
Clint 🌈✌️

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ON THIS DAY = FEBRUARY 9

BIRTHDAYS

• 1737 = Thomas Paine = English-American philosopher, author, and activist

• 1874 = Amy Lowell = American poet 🌈

• 1891 = Ronald Colman = English-American actor

• 1896 = Alberto Vargas = Peruvian-American painter and illustrator

• 1909 = Carmen Miranda = Portuguese-Brazilian actor, singer, and dancer

• 1914 = Ernest Tubb = American singer-songwriter

• 1932 = Gerhard Richter = German painter and photographer

• 1942 = Carole King = American singer-songwriter and pianist

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• 1960 = David Simon = American writer and television producer

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• 1963 = Travis Tritt = American singer-songwriter

• 1976 = Charlie Day = American actor, producer, and screenwriter

• 1981 = Tom Hiddleston = English actor

• 1987 = Michael B. Jordan = American actor

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EVENTS

• 1893 = Verdi's last opera, Falstaff premieres at La Scala, Milan.

• 1895 = William G. Morgan creates a game called Mintonette, which soon comes to be referred to as volleyball.

• 1964 = The Beatles make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing before a record-setting audience of 73 million viewers across the United States.

• 1971 = All in the Family airs the first gay-themed network tv episode.

• 1977 = Frameline, the world’s first gay and lesbian film festival, premieres in San Francisco, CA.

• 1999 = Jerry Falwell claims Teletubbies’ Tinky-Winky is gay. Bless his mess.

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