Yes, even tissue boxes matter...

People have always sort of laughed at my consideration of beauty. Ever since I was a kid, I've been drawn to it – and if it wasn't there, I was interested in creating it. When I was about 10, I was with my siblings at the house of my parents' friends. They were showing us the yard where we could play and an old tree house. It was a little dirty, with a few years of dust and leaves strewn inside. I immediately set about cleaning it up, already seeing in my imagination how cute it could be. I remember this because later on that afternoon, I heard my parents' friend telling them how I immediately started cleaning up. They all thought it was one of those cute/funny things about me and my dad said if left to my own devices, I would have it all fixed up in no time.

When it came time for new wallpaper in the dining room and living room, my mom picked it out. But she was stumped when it came to which color to paint the wall going up the stairs since it needed to complement both rooms. I was horrified that they were going to go with plain white by default – it would have looked terrible. So, I got to choose (a soft peachy pink, if you're curious). They raised their eyebrows at my selection, but once it was on the wall, agreed it was the right choice, warming the space and harmonizing the two rooms. Beauty 1, Boring 0.

One time in my teens when I was being teased again about always having to choose something "pretty," even practical things no one should care about, like tissue boxes, I explained that it wasn't that I would automatically discount something just because it wasn't "pretty." It was just that I felt if one had a choice, beauty should always be considered. After all, I told my dad, why live with something ugly if you don't have to? And yes, that applied all across the board, even down to little things like tissue boxes. Being surrounded by beauty is important, I argued at the time, or else God wouldn't have bothered to create things like flowers, nor would he have graced us with creativity. (Now I would add that choosing to surround yourself with beauty – be it beautiful furniture, colors, fabric, flowers, clothes, etc. – is a cross between honoring the divine and self-love.)

Dad laughed, said he hadn't thought about it like that, but I had a point. Years later, my friends said the same thing. I hope you agree.