Hidden treasures

You can't always believe everything people tell you.

Especially when it's really just an opinion, anyway.

I don't often hear people say many positive things about Waco, Texas. Sure, the Baylor faithful take pride in their school, but when it comes to the actual town, the general consensus is that "there is nothing to do."

False.

My friend Wendy and I really didn't have much going on today, so we decided it would be in our best interest to make the drive down I-35 to Waco. We were on a double mission: eat at Fazoli's and make a music video. I'm very happy to say that we were successful on both accounts, and I'm even more thrilled to say that people are very wrong about Waco—there is SO much to do there.

After we ate at breadstick heaven—so worth the trip after being deprived for about seven years—we drove to the Baylor campus, which is actually quite lovely. We just happened to pull into a parking lot right in front of a live bear display, so you can bet that we shot some of our music video in front of those cages. I mean, why would you not have a bear in the background of something that will likely be up for a VMA next year?

Go find a bear.

We also sought out the RG3 Heisman trophy and found it inside the locked athletics building. While this was a rather big letdown, Wendy was able to get a pretty legit picture through the glass doors. It almost looks like we were inside the building. We still think there should be a bigger statue of him somewhere outside where people can take pictures with him. I don't want to say it ruined our music video any, but it did hurt it a little. I hope Baylor officials take this into consideration.

I can't give many more details, because the music video has yet to be released (plus, I haven't even edited it yet), but I will say that we sang and danced with caged animals, on campus, on a bridge over the Brazos, in front of some buildings in what we guessed was downtown, and in local retail stores. We even hit up some swanky little coffee shop that had a taco truck right next to it after we bugged our friend Andrew who had to work in Waco for the day.

In the past, I only stopped in Waco for restroom breaks on road trips to College Station or Austin. But I must say I now have a new appreciation for this place.

So many times in life, we get the wrong impression of people or things simply because we don't take the time to get to know them. As trite as it is to say, you really shouldn't judge a book by its cover, because you don't exactly know what adventures opening it will bring to your life. God created everything for a purpose, but sometimes you just have to peel back the layers to discover the true beauty underneath the surface.

Life only happens once, and it seems silly not to find the positives in as much as you can. Things, people, and under-appreciated towns aren't always going to seem perfect, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy them.

And who doesn't love a little joy?