Let me first start of by saying ' Happy New Year' to all of the barrowfans. I must say it is a bit late of my behalf and I am sorry for that. I wanted to write a piece, seeing how it's a new year and at this time we tend to look forward as well as with a turned shoulder to the past.  We all seem to speaking about what would be a dream project for John Barrowman. In regards to piece of music, we wish he would preform or even stages and materials that we would wish to see him grace.  So let me take you on a trip to the past. With a turned shoulder, let us look to the past and think.  My question to you all is this. What is your favorite piece of art that our dearest John has preformed, recited or created.  Has something touched you more than anything else? Was there a moment that made you stop, and in that second you saw things much clearer? Even if that was for just a single moment.  If so, I would love to hear about it. Share you stories of inspiration and clarity that may have arisen from his words.

My moment of inspiration first came from the song  ' I Am What I Am' . It was April of last year, that I found myself standing in the middle of a room with his words flowing over me like a fresh spring shower. It was there, that I understood  I had been living my life  closed away. Afraid to share who I was or even to embrace it. But it was within those words that I saw what only I could teach myself. A lesson that we all must learn at some point in our lives, we can only hope that lesson is not learned too late in life.  " Life's not worth a damn, until you can say ' I am what I am ' " . Those words are a mantra to live one's life by.  If you hide yourself away, ashamed of who you are because everyone around you is different , you aren't living your life. You are living a lie, a painful lie that you will regret when time moves forward. Life is scary and sometimes you have to take a leap forward and embrace yourself. For until you do, no one will.

As time moved on, I have found inspiration in both his written words and the words of the songs in which he sings. Songs that carry such a strong and passionate message, that most today would have never heard if it was not for him.  As talented as he is, you have to also give him a true appreciation for taking a risk and embracing a series of messages that have been forgotten. 

So, I ask you all to share what your moment of inspiration or favorite piece of art created by our dear John Barrowman.  I look forward to hearing what has either inspiration you or just what you favorite piece of work is. 

With much love, Christina
 
Hey #BarrowFans, Dana here, with news of a charity contest that I thought would be REALLY cool for #BarrowFans to try our luck at.  Please read on for more information and how you can help (or at least read the red bits), but the bottom line is if we win we can get a $1000 donation for DogsTrust a charity near and dear to the heart of our favorite John Barrowman.

The contest is called R$NG in the NEW YEAR! and it's put on by an organization I support called 'Maddie's Corner'  a dog loving charity which was founded by Kristin Chenoweth (who I'm sure you all know from 'Glee' and 'Wicked' at the very least) The prize for the contest and the #BarrowRelevance is $1000 donated to your animal loving charity of choice (and cake pops LOL). So when I heard about this contest naturally my first thought was of DogsTrust one of the charities John Barrowman supports that does such great work.  I emailed the folks in charge of the contest and they said DogsTrust certainly qualifies for the prize so if we win it would be something we could do for a very worthwhile organization and something I'm sure would make JB smile. And considering how often he makes us smile wouldn't it be great to repay the favor?

So HOW DO WE WIN? The contest is to see who can get the most people to FOLLOW 'Maddie's Corner' on twitter and LIKE them on Facebook. What YOU all can do is follow @MaddiesCorner on twitter and like Maddie's Corner on Facebook BUT THAT'S NOT ALL. In order for it to count you have to tweet or write on the wall that @BarrowmanDay sent you. You can do both as far as I understand. Here's the details of how to help from the Maddie's Corner site, with addition of our name in the appropriate places:

Twitter:
1. Become a Follower
2.Tweet a variation** of the following: @MaddiesCorner @BARROWMANDAY sent me! #Maddies Corner Contest
**To abide by Twitter guidelines we suggest that you have the followers you are bringing actually tweet a variety of things. Twitter does not like the same thing to be tweeted over and over. The IMPORTANT PART is that no matter what you tweet, be sure to include @MaddiesCorner and @BARROWMANDAY!

Facebook:
1. Become a fan
2. Write on our wall: "BarrowmanDay" suggested I become a fan of Maddie's Corner!

Full contest details

This is a really cool opportunity to help two great organizations spread awareness and raise some funds. So please help if you're so inclined and tell your friends to do the same. The contest ends January 31st so get on it #BarrowBuddies!!

Also, please if you have a free moments take a look at the websites for Maddie's Corner (www.maddiescorner.org) and DogsTrust (www.dogstrust.org.uk) to learn more about the wonderful work they do.

This is just something I thought would be nice for us to do, we're not associated with John Barrowman, DogsTrust or Maddie's Corner in any official capacity. We just  support them all and think you should too!

<3Dana