‘Cause baby you’re a firework loud and annoying shirt

Description My friend Sarah, she’s got this laugh, a real gut-buster, the kind that makes you immediately feel lighter. She calls me sometimes, usually on a Friday, just to chat, and you can almost -hear- the grin in her voice, even over the phone. She was telling me about this concert she went to, and how she was wearing this shirt, neon green, emblazoned with the words Cause baby you’re a firework loud and annoying shirt, and I instantly pictured it, that absurd, perfectly Sarah thing to wear. I mean, I knew exactly what she was talking about, since it was the same one she’d been threatening to wear to a family wedding, just to “spice things up.” Step by step to buy ‘Cause baby you’re a firework loud and annoying shirt I swear, she’s a walking contradiction. On one hand, incredibly sensitive, always the first to send a “thinking of you” card, or bake cookies for someone going through a rough patch. But then, bam! She’s off, wearing this shirt, planning pranks, or trying to convince me to dye my hair bright purple, again. Remembering it, I recalled a time when we were kids, and we snuck into the county fair; we spent all our money on those terrible, overly-sugary donuts, and ended up getting sick later. That was the best, and the worst, day ever. The shirt though? It felt like a statement, a declaration. It wasn’t just about the words, it was about the whole persona. The kind of woman who would choose that phrase, who would actively -seek it out- and wear it proudly, is a force, you know? Someone who laughs at the stuffiness, who doesn’t apologize for being a little much, who knows they are a whole lot of energy. It felt like a hug of sorts, an acknowledgment of being a little bit chaotic, and loving it. ‘Cause baby you’re a firework loud and annoying unisex-t-shirt ‘Cause baby you’re a firework loud and annoying shirt: get your official shirt now It made me think of my aunt, actually. She’s the same way, always has been. I remember her at family gatherings, always dressed in the brightest colors, the loudest patterns, always telling the most outrageous stories. I could hear her from across the room – and I loved it. She never cared what people thought, and that was the freeing thing about her; she just embraced her own brand of brilliant eccentricity. And honestly? I’ve caught myself wanting that. The freedom, the joy in being unapologetically -me-. Lately I’ve been trying to step outside my own comfort zone, maybe not with a neon green shirt, but just by being a little bit bolder in my own life, standing up for what I believe in, and generally trying to worry a little bit less about what other people think. The shirt, really, was just a visible manifestation of that spirit. So, I told Sarah, “You know, that shirt is brilliant, just absolutely perfect.” I could hear the smile bloom in her voice again. “Thanks,” she said. “I thought so. It’s all about owning it, right? Being the firework.” And you know what? She’s right. Sometimes, we just need a little reminder to embrace the loud, the bright, the slightly annoying. And sometimes, it comes in the form of a neon green tee.