A Long Time Ago, in a Galaxy Far, Far Away...

All right, maybe Illinois in my late teens and early twenties isn't QUITE that far away, but it sometimes feels like it.

Anyway, I've been thinking. The kind of thoughts that lead to a serious and admittedly odd blog. So, you've been warned. If you don't want serious, and you can't handle odd, stop right here.

x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x


Ok, if you didn't stop, it's your own darned fault!

When I was nineteen or twentyish, in a bar, I had a discussion about being different. One of the men flirting with us (my friend and I) got incredibly incensed, and said something along the lines of "what makes you think YOU'RE so special?" (obviously didn't do his chances at scoring any good :) ). I pointed out that different and special are two completely separate concepts. Special implies better. Different is simply "not the same." Apples are different from oranges. That doesn't make them better -- or worse either for that matter. Just not the same.

Society when I was growing up (at least in my schools in a smallish town in Illinois) (and I think maybe now as well) places/placed a premium on "fitting in" and being the same. There was a significant social price for being "different" "odd" or "weird." All of which I was.

When I was in high school an aunt came to visit and said to me "These are the best years of your life." And I responded. "Then just shoot me now!"

Fortunately for her (and even more fortunately for me!). They weren't. Not even close. My life continually gets better. Which was why I was able to tell my son. "This too shall pass." And MEAN it. School (through high school/compulsory public education) is appx. 12 years out of your life, early in your life. Then it's over. You're approximately 18 and out in the world. How sad it would be (in my opinion) if "the best years of your life" are over before you're even able to drink, vote, and so many other things? I mean the average life span is something like 80, so you're not even halfway through. Do you really want the whole rest of your time on earth to be anticlimactic? EWWWW.

I mean, if you can, have fun in school. Enjoy every minute of it. If you can't. (And a lot of us can't), know it has a limited shelf life, it will be over soon, and that things DO get better.

Another thing, in the movie X-Men 2, there were two scenes that stuck in my mind. The first is when the parents ask their son if he could "Just try not being a mutant?" That was so sad to me. Because it denies all the individuality that makes him special just to fit in and make things comfortable. And for the record. It's not possible. You can *try* and sometimes you can even *pass* but it kills a little piece of you and degrades who you really are. Which leads to the second scene, where Nightcrawler is talking to Mystique and points out that she can look like anyone. She could "pass." So why didn't she just look like everybody else all the time?" And she answered that she shouldn't have to.

I think about this stuff sometimes. Because I think creativity is important. And creativity by its nature means doing something "different" and going somewhere new that people haven't gone before, or looking at things differently. That's the only way progress gets made. Somebody had to "discover" fire, and they didn't do that sitting on their heinie under a stack of furs going "*$#@$ it's cold!" OK, so maybe they did start OUT there, but they didn't STAY there. They got up off their tookus (sp?) and DID something. And they probably failed at first. Maybe a lot of times. But eventually it worked.

I tell my son that it does no good to turn the steering wheel if the vehicle isn't moving.

Every day is a new start. If you don't like where things are, today is your chance to change them. Oh, and actions have consequences. Even inaction has consequences -- so you can't just get away with saying "I'm not responsible for this fire crap -- I was just sitting here huddled under my skins minding my own business..."

OK, so much for serious. Have a great day everybody.