Doof Of The Week: Bethany Conerly

This week's Doof of the Week is our amazingly talented and incredibly kind friend, Bethany. Her spirit is so warm, so friendly, and so loving. Plus, she has a voice like an angel! Meet this amazing person, and see why we just can't get enough of her...  

What are you listening to/watching/reading right now?

I last watched Chuck on Netflix, which has so many good things about it, and my friend recently got me to watch Gilmore Girls so I’m hooked on that now. I’ve been dancing around to Grizfolk and Typhoon, and also Andy Shauf, The Staves, Bahamas, Kaleo, Day Wave … I'm currently slowly rereading The Perks of Being a Wallflower for the third time and I just started A Walk in the Woods for one of my classes which is an english class linked with a wellness class and that has been interesting. We also read a motivational book, Daring Greatly by Brene Brown, which was a different kind of read for the classroom setting.

What is your latest discovery?

How much fun it was to decorate my room by cutting out pictures from National Geographic magazines. My friend KC had a few pictures on her wall and I found out from her that I could get magazines for almost nothing at a thrift store. She helped me tape them up on my wall so they’re not plain white anymore. Thanks, National Geographic.

What's your secret skill?

Ask me to do a magic card trick!

Who are your idols/inspirations?

I have a lot of friends around me that I am so grateful for that inspire me everyday.(: I like to look up to Kina Grannis as a singer/artist/overall human being. I got to meet her last year and she is so kind and genuinely happy. I love how when you listen to her sing

you can hear her smile. She is just so passionate about what she does.

What's your sartorial signature?

I have two necklaces that I regularly wear and they’re both very special to me. One of them is my triangle necklace that I got at a Kina concert. The other one is of a mermaid that my late grandfather found. He was known for going on walks for hours all over Webster Groves, and he would find all kinds of little treasures and one day he found this mermaid and he brought it home and my grandmother took a green ribbon and made it into a necklace for me. It is one of my favorite things I have and I wear it to honor my grandfather.

What does being a doof mean to you?

Something I've found is that adventure doesn’t have to be extravagant. Although adventure is exploring things you haven’t seen or understood before and doing something out of your normal routine, it doesn’t have to be a great production. I realized this recently while going on sunrise walks, and driving to parks at dawn, because those are some of the simplest things. I think that being a doof is knowing that some of best adventures come from exploring what we do not normally see in the ordinary.

Quote or phrase that you live by?

“Nothing can ever happen twice, in consequence the sorry fact is we arrive here improvised and leave without the chance to practice.” This is the opening line to a poem that we read sophomore year of high school during carpe diem week I believe. I wrote the line out and it’s been taped to my wall ever since.

“When they make fun of your accent, I will take you swimming, because we all sound the same underwater.” This is one from Sara Kay who is my favorite spoken word poet. She has a really great Ted Talk if you don’t know who she is.

Words of advice for millenials?

I would say that while caring for other people is great, spending time to get to know you and figure out what’s best for yourself can be hard, but it’s really important. It’s good to be alone sometimes. Get to know yourself.

What's your take on feminism?

I don’t want to live in a world that’s afraid and I think people should be free to be as masculine or as feminine as they so please regardless of their biological gender.

Talk about something you think is important?

My Sociology teacher put this on the board a few times: “Pain from weakness. Pain from strength. Pick your pain.” I think this is such an important idea because it’s basically realizing that there’s no avoiding pain. Pain is inevitable because it takes a little pain to get somewhere good, and if you don’t go through any pain, you won’t get anywhere, which is the true pain of it all. I think this is so important because we can either choose to go through the motions of daily life and not really get anything out of it all, or we can push our boundaries and make the pain really worth it.

Anything else you'd like to talk about or add?

I’d just like to say that Kelly, Maggie and Molly are some of the most fun and fascinating people I’ve had the pleasure to meet. I love you doofs <3

Thank you so much to Bethany, who is truly beautiful inside and out. We are so lucky to have a friend like you...to more of those adventures to come :)