Sometimes, I think there's nothing so great in the world than a person who is passionate about something.
There's something enchanting, attractive, magnetic about a passionate person. They're the people that people gather around. They inspire the groups that inspire change. People want to be where the action is, and sometimes you can just feel potential radiating from people.
That's why local news channels always feature "hometown heroes"--people pursuing passions in their little communities, with captivated local audiences looking to them to see some good in the world. End the newscast on this happy note, and people will associate the station with passionate people.
Maybe my life is just a pursuit of these individuals. By putting yourself in proximity, you can hope for a little of their magic to rub off on you. I attended gifted programs in elementary school taught by passionate people and ended up with a passion for reading. My high school was created by a group of passionate people, and I ended up with a passion for education. I've always been a compulsive club-joiner; I like the feeling of sitting in a room of people with a common purpose and understanding, all working towards the same goal. When everybody comes together to create something successful, each person adding something that wouldn't have been there without them, it sparks little seeds of passion in all the participants.
Every day, I grow a little more sure that I'm supposed to be a teacher. Teachers are in a prime position to notice sparks of passion in students and ignite them. And maybe they'll rub off a little on me, too.
Mar 21, 2011
Mar 17, 2011
Another Letter
Dad,
You have to know this is ridiculous. You have to. I refuse to believe otherwise.
I'm obviously old enough to know parents aren't perfect, and I can see your faults clearly. But I shouldn't have to see them all at once, and they shouldn't be doing what they're doing to Mom right now. Or me. I don't care what twisted logic is going on in that head of yours; we don't deserve this.
I know you well enough to guess why you're so mad.
You think we're disappointing. We're cramping your style. We can't live up to your standards because we can all only hope to be as efficient and perfect as you are.
You know what you sound like? What you're acting like? A teenager.
I am a teenager, and I know this is stupid and immature. Nothing ever gets worked out by locking your bedroom door and blasting Simple Plan, but you're doing the grown man equivalent right now.
Maybe some of your problems are legitimate. Your mother is slowly dying, and you don't know how to deal with it. Well, it's killing me as much as it's killing you. I think about it all the time. Do you think I can deal with it on my own? Don't you think I need you? Don't you think you might need your family too?
Oh but we're just burdens now. Mom is fat, Zack can't do his homework, and I don't keep the kitchen clean enough for you. If those are really the worst problems you have, shouldn't you feel pretty freaking lucky?
I've been the easiest child to raise. I'm self-motivated, pretty self-sufficient. I'm going to one of the best universities in the state. I respect my parents; I love my brother. I would do anything for any of you. I've never caused a bit of trouble. I don't deserve to be shut out.
I used to attribute a lot of my success to you, but I have to rethink that. It scares me because I'm so much like you, but I never want to be this version of you. I don't want to hurt people who I supposedly love because I'm vain and selfish.
The worst part is you'll never understand why this hurts me so much. You'll never understand that you're wrong. Everything you're doing is wrong. You'd probably think I'm silly, over-reacting. Nobody can be right because you're right. Always.
Well, you're not. I'm already losing my grandmother sooner than I'd thought. Please don't make me lose you too, because I don't think I can deal with that. I will always love you, but I don't always have to respect you. Respect is earned, even from children.
My whole world is changing in a few months. I need something to be the same, concrete, dependable. The one thing I thought I could always depend on, my father, suddenly isn't so dependable. That just isn't fair to me.
I didn't do anything wrong. I don't deserve this. Please stop.
Samantha
You have to know this is ridiculous. You have to. I refuse to believe otherwise.
I'm obviously old enough to know parents aren't perfect, and I can see your faults clearly. But I shouldn't have to see them all at once, and they shouldn't be doing what they're doing to Mom right now. Or me. I don't care what twisted logic is going on in that head of yours; we don't deserve this.
I know you well enough to guess why you're so mad.
You think we're disappointing. We're cramping your style. We can't live up to your standards because we can all only hope to be as efficient and perfect as you are.
You know what you sound like? What you're acting like? A teenager.
I am a teenager, and I know this is stupid and immature. Nothing ever gets worked out by locking your bedroom door and blasting Simple Plan, but you're doing the grown man equivalent right now.
Maybe some of your problems are legitimate. Your mother is slowly dying, and you don't know how to deal with it. Well, it's killing me as much as it's killing you. I think about it all the time. Do you think I can deal with it on my own? Don't you think I need you? Don't you think you might need your family too?
Oh but we're just burdens now. Mom is fat, Zack can't do his homework, and I don't keep the kitchen clean enough for you. If those are really the worst problems you have, shouldn't you feel pretty freaking lucky?
I've been the easiest child to raise. I'm self-motivated, pretty self-sufficient. I'm going to one of the best universities in the state. I respect my parents; I love my brother. I would do anything for any of you. I've never caused a bit of trouble. I don't deserve to be shut out.
I used to attribute a lot of my success to you, but I have to rethink that. It scares me because I'm so much like you, but I never want to be this version of you. I don't want to hurt people who I supposedly love because I'm vain and selfish.
The worst part is you'll never understand why this hurts me so much. You'll never understand that you're wrong. Everything you're doing is wrong. You'd probably think I'm silly, over-reacting. Nobody can be right because you're right. Always.
Well, you're not. I'm already losing my grandmother sooner than I'd thought. Please don't make me lose you too, because I don't think I can deal with that. I will always love you, but I don't always have to respect you. Respect is earned, even from children.
My whole world is changing in a few months. I need something to be the same, concrete, dependable. The one thing I thought I could always depend on, my father, suddenly isn't so dependable. That just isn't fair to me.
I didn't do anything wrong. I don't deserve this. Please stop.
Samantha
Mar 1, 2011
Live From New York...
Tina Fey is a small contributor to my horrible posting habits. A small one. Most of it can be attributed to laziness and an uninspired existence.
I spent much of this weekend ignoring my homework by watching episode of episode of 30 Rock on Netflix. Though I watched all of these episodes when they originally aired, they're just as entertaining the second time around.
Perhaps it was this Tina-filled marathon that prompted me to further ignore my homework by watching a documentary-ish feature on VH1 (for some reason?) about Saturday Night Live in the years 2000-2010. Knowing Tina was a writer during some of this time, I had to watch it.
I've always kept up relatively with SNL, but haven't been a faithful watcher since Tina departed. I mostly tune in now when there's a host a like (Elton John on April 2nd!); I'll catch the popular sketches on the internet later. But this documentary renewed my fallen interest in the variety show.
SNL, having been around for a bazillion seasons, is much more culturally relevant than jumpstarting the careers of some our most popular comedians. Each episode serves as a time capsule of sorts. The people and events the show parodies weekly are very topical and very temporary. I won't get many of the jokes from the episodes in the 80's, because largely, you had to be there. Even Tina Fey's famous Sarah Palin sketches aren't as funny if you haven't seen the original (and hilarious in their own right) incidents.
Yet, reruns of SNL are a Saturday television mainstay and many of the characters and lines stay in the pop culture conscious long after the events that spawn them.
The documentary suggested that this was because SNL serves as the people's voice. Like my favorite Molly Ivins said, "Satire is traditionally the weapon of the powerless against the powerful."
This is illustrated best by the first episode after the tragedy on September 11th. SNL was particularly affected, being so close to Ground Zero. Nobody felt very funny that week, especially those who were still breathing the smoke on their daily commutes.
But SNL had to go on. The first joke was told by none other than Rudy Guiliani, surrounded by a few firemen (with ashes from the site still clinging to their clothes), and the tension broke, and the funny could happen again. Though the laughter may have felt unnatural for awhile, SNL pushed the nation a little further towards normalcy.
People say SNL sways elections, which they vehemently deny, and they tend to occasionally piss off Mark Walhberg. But there's no denying that it's been on air for so long for a reason. Maybe they don't sway votes, but they get people to google "David Paterson." And in this day and age, that's a pretty good accomplishment.
I spent much of this weekend ignoring my homework by watching episode of episode of 30 Rock on Netflix. Though I watched all of these episodes when they originally aired, they're just as entertaining the second time around.
Perhaps it was this Tina-filled marathon that prompted me to further ignore my homework by watching a documentary-ish feature on VH1 (for some reason?) about Saturday Night Live in the years 2000-2010. Knowing Tina was a writer during some of this time, I had to watch it.
I've always kept up relatively with SNL, but haven't been a faithful watcher since Tina departed. I mostly tune in now when there's a host a like (Elton John on April 2nd!); I'll catch the popular sketches on the internet later. But this documentary renewed my fallen interest in the variety show.
SNL, having been around for a bazillion seasons, is much more culturally relevant than jumpstarting the careers of some our most popular comedians. Each episode serves as a time capsule of sorts. The people and events the show parodies weekly are very topical and very temporary. I won't get many of the jokes from the episodes in the 80's, because largely, you had to be there. Even Tina Fey's famous Sarah Palin sketches aren't as funny if you haven't seen the original (and hilarious in their own right) incidents.
Yet, reruns of SNL are a Saturday television mainstay and many of the characters and lines stay in the pop culture conscious long after the events that spawn them.
The documentary suggested that this was because SNL serves as the people's voice. Like my favorite Molly Ivins said, "Satire is traditionally the weapon of the powerless against the powerful."
This is illustrated best by the first episode after the tragedy on September 11th. SNL was particularly affected, being so close to Ground Zero. Nobody felt very funny that week, especially those who were still breathing the smoke on their daily commutes.
But SNL had to go on. The first joke was told by none other than Rudy Guiliani, surrounded by a few firemen (with ashes from the site still clinging to their clothes), and the tension broke, and the funny could happen again. Though the laughter may have felt unnatural for awhile, SNL pushed the nation a little further towards normalcy.
People say SNL sways elections, which they vehemently deny, and they tend to occasionally piss off Mark Walhberg. But there's no denying that it's been on air for so long for a reason. Maybe they don't sway votes, but they get people to google "David Paterson." And in this day and age, that's a pretty good accomplishment.
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