You Are Meant To Suck
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| BURNING FURNITURE; WHAT I IMAGINE WHEN I JUDGE MY OWN MATERIAL | SOURCE: TORAX.DE |
Since it's New Year Eve, everybody will be listing resolutions. This might include picking up a new activity, a new hobby or a new attitude.
But remember, you are going to suck in whatever you are going to do at first.
In fact, you will suck so hard that people will have contempt for you. They will hate what you produce because of your new found optimism and they will say the harshest things for it. You will start doubting yourself by February and then you will start comparing with the 1001 other people partaking in the same activity.
But you have no idea where their starting point was. Worst part of all, social media is full with people becoming their own editors. I know. Because I do this too. I don't post my worst days on it unless I think it is necessary to explain myself.
But here's the catch: You are meant to suck. That's the only way for you to realize that you need to take your craft seriously. That you can't stand on your own.
The difference between you and them is that you are willing to pick something new to improve yourself. You didn't sit at the sidelines and just be a spectator. YOU decided to create. And that's better than not creating at all.
I'd rather talk to people about their failures in life and learn from it than people who never take risks at all.
If you want to quit by the end of the first quarter, then it's up to you. No judgement there. Sometimes, we have to acknowledge that some activities don't suit you.Like most activities, privilege probably play a huge role. Losing interest is also a real thing. Probably you were pressured to think of something on the 31st.
But if you feel like continuing, remember there will always be help communities and by March or April, this is where they will be in full swing.
It's ok to suck.
The Word "Talent" Has Been Abused
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| TONY "BIRDMAN" HAWK| SOURCE: ESPN.COM |
Talent implies that everyone has that intrinsic talent in them. It implies that putting effort into things you do is a myth.
I have to call bullshit on this.
The word talent normally denotes that the person you are admiring was lucky enough to suck in private.
Don't make the mistake that these people didn't have to go through the tough parts too. They have to put in the hard work like anyone else.
The difference here is that they probably have the money or resources to probably hire a trainer. They probably came from a family that encouraged them to follow through with what they liked. They probably picked it up when they were young enough that they have the whole afternoon after school to practice.
Think Tony Hawk became a great skateboarder just because he was "talented." No! He started when he was young. His father was the head of the Skateboarding Association of America. So he had both time, resources and experience on his side.
So when he sucked, he had somebody pushing him. When he sucked, he had the time to correct his errors.
I remember in school, my teachers think I was talented in English because I sort of did better than my peers. Looking back, I was just lucky that my parents read books of higher reading difficulty to me at a young age, making me exposed to a wider vocabulary than usual.
It was unfair for teachers to call me talented just because of that and make the other kids feel bad for it.
No one is intrinsically talented and that's fine. Just put in the hours.
There Will Be Haters, So You Either Own It or Conform
Every art form exist because somebody said fuck the rules. They then proceed to create a new standard. Not enough people say this out loud.
No matter what you do in life, there will always be people looking for the imperfections. I should know this because I am also a judgmental piece of shit. In fact, I think all of us are judgmental pieces of shit, but our standards are different because we grow up in different worlds.
What's good or bad depends on what elements we cobbled from our experiences. I hate Buzzfeed's articles to the bone. Maybe because I hate how easy it is for them to make money out of lists. Yet, here I am writing a list of things for people.
I also hate a lot of pop songs because I spent so much time listening to bands like Crowbar or Slayer. Some people hate my writing. A lot of people think I am a hack. I know I have received comments that is a written equivalent of a bat to the face.
I know, some of you will hate this cheesy pseudo end of the year motivational message.
So what do we do now acknowledging this whole mess? What happens when the standards of good and bad are arbitrary?
You fucking own it.
People screamed "Hey, this is skateboarding! You're supposed to be on your deck, doing tricks, not have one foot down or land primo (sideways)!" Rodney Mullen went, fuck you this is freestyle skateboarding.
A reviewer once said "This music sounds like a bunch of heavy metal falling down the stairs." Black Sabbath cranked their amps and went fuck you, this music is called Heavy Metal.
Have I ever judged people for their taste in what constitutes good or bad before? Yes I did but only because I am human. I am trapped in my biases. And yes, I am a jerk for that.
So hold me accountable for that.
But it doesn't mean my voice or the voice of others stop you from owning what you think is good. There will always be communities formed around your niche and that's how different art forms get born.
Haikus by an eurocentric standard, wouldn't be considered poetry for the lack of rhyming found in old literature.
Lastly if you still want to strive in standards set by other people and you see the value in it; then go for it. I may not see the value in your pursuit and I may say one or two nasty things about it because I can be a jerk.
But like all the rebels in life, you are owning it.
It's OK To Get Things Late in Life
Some of the things in this list is probably common sense to some people. But I am only getting them now. It took me awhile to not beat myself up for all this.
But then I realize it's better to get it rather than not get it at all.
Hopefully this can be helpful to some braving through 2017.
Alright, I am done with social media procrastination. Moving to other more important stuff.
Originally posted on my facebook page. Initially this was supposed to be a short list but I got carried away so may as well turn it into a full blown blog post.
Originally posted on my facebook page. Initially this was supposed to be a short list but I got carried away so may as well turn it into a full blown blog post.
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