The 100th Kid

Many years ago, my parents owned a grocery store where I worked Summers. Most of the costumers were simple people who to be honest, weren't very interesting. One of the exceptions however was Rosario. Rosario was a 98 year old woman who I eventually saw reach her 100th birthday. This also being the 100th Kintsugi Kid I'm posting, Rosario seemed like the ideal person to illustrate.

Rosario was a big fan of cheese and often joked how cheese was the cow's attempt to reach immortality. (Mooo!) Most importantly though, she taught me about Kintsugi. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery using lacquer mixed with powdered gold. However, Kintsugi can also be understood as a philosophy of acceptance. Sometimes, Rosario would openly talk about her flaws or the mistakes she had made in life or even tell little stories of nothingness that molded her unique soul. They're like "cracks" I once suggested. She replied: "Indeed. The beauty of our personal history lies in these cracks. The uniqueness of our imperfections are what make us who we are."
Accepting my flaws hasn't always been easy on my ego. Time though has brought me to realize that failures matter as much as triumphs and that wisdom and beauty can be found in both. A lesson partially learned thanks to this 100th and 100 year old Kintsugi Kid.