Why is it that with some people, it's so easy for me to "sparkle like a crystal," but with others i'm more like a very plain pebble on the ground? i suppose it has something to do with the people...
The people with whom i feel sparkly enourage me to sparkle. It's not that they say, "C'mon, just sparkle already!" with a hint of impatience. They just shower me with love and affection and support...and perhaps most importantly, they make it clear that even on my most lackluster days, they still see me as someone who sparkles. i guess it all goes back to the theory that you live up (or down) to people's expectations of you. So if someone thinks you're a little timid, a little desperate, a little too quiet - you'll probably act a little withdrawn and reserved, and you know that straining to sparkle for that person would take a great effort. But if someone thinks you're the kind of person who just sparkles, well, it's easy to sparkle - for one thing, that person will be looking for you to sparkle, so even if it's just a trick of the light that's making you shine, that person will simply assume that it's your spark.
And another thing - people who think you're someone who sparkles tend to be sparklers themselves. And it's a positive feedback loop (okay, i'm a math geek, deal) - your spark increases their sparks, which increase your spark, and on and on until the whole world is sparkling.
i need to surround myself with more sparkly people. i like who i am when i'm with them.