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Writer's Block: The long and winding road
Mar. 15th, 2011 10:03 pm[Error: unknown template qotd]
There have been a few events in my life that I would really call "life-changing", some good and some bad. And I am definitely part of the school that says "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." To a point.
For example - I got seriously lost three times as a small child, twice in foreign countries, one of which I didn't speak the local language for - and I'm now really good at navigating. I tell people that I have an internal mental map, and it's really true. The trauma of being lost like that as a small child impacted me in a big way: I never wanted that to happen again, so I got very good at knowing where I am and how to get where I want to be. (I use 'trauma' loosely - nothing criminal or medically dangerous happened to me - but emotionally and mentally it was pretty traumatic and being lost is still one of those phobias that I wake up from nightmares about.) There are a couple other things I could mention, but this isn't about airing dirty laundry.
However, I do think that there is a point where things are unacceptable. I don't think, for instance, that beating a small child is okay because it will supposedly make him tougher, or letting someone suffer pain from an injury when they could be helped is alright simply because they should be able to get through it. I don't think it's cool to be rude to someone, or purposefully emotionally disturb someone, simply because they're "a sissy" or "a wimp" or because their comfort zone is different from yours and you like to see them squirm.
That being said, my answer is: no, I wouldn't go back and change things. A lot of my maturity came from the things that took away my innocence - at the basic level, that's how it works, right? - and I would rather be a little jaded and cynical, a little world-weary, than blissfully ignorant. In fact I need that exposure, I think, more than most people. I'm a very gullible person, and very trusting, so it's hard sometimes for me to believe badly of other people. (The totally heinous mess going on in Cleveland, TX right now completely blows my mind, just for reference.) I don't regret the things I've learned from the situations I've been in. Those situations did actually make me a stronger, more mature, more responsible person, and I appreciate that. I wouldn't be the person I am today without those events.
There will always be a part of me that thinks everyone should be required to work a year in the service/hospitality industry before they're allowed to go shopping or eat out in a restaurant. Unappreciative customers suck.
There have been a few events in my life that I would really call "life-changing", some good and some bad. And I am definitely part of the school that says "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." To a point.
For example - I got seriously lost three times as a small child, twice in foreign countries, one of which I didn't speak the local language for - and I'm now really good at navigating. I tell people that I have an internal mental map, and it's really true. The trauma of being lost like that as a small child impacted me in a big way: I never wanted that to happen again, so I got very good at knowing where I am and how to get where I want to be. (I use 'trauma' loosely - nothing criminal or medically dangerous happened to me - but emotionally and mentally it was pretty traumatic and being lost is still one of those phobias that I wake up from nightmares about.) There are a couple other things I could mention, but this isn't about airing dirty laundry.
However, I do think that there is a point where things are unacceptable. I don't think, for instance, that beating a small child is okay because it will supposedly make him tougher, or letting someone suffer pain from an injury when they could be helped is alright simply because they should be able to get through it. I don't think it's cool to be rude to someone, or purposefully emotionally disturb someone, simply because they're "a sissy" or "a wimp" or because their comfort zone is different from yours and you like to see them squirm.
That being said, my answer is: no, I wouldn't go back and change things. A lot of my maturity came from the things that took away my innocence - at the basic level, that's how it works, right? - and I would rather be a little jaded and cynical, a little world-weary, than blissfully ignorant. In fact I need that exposure, I think, more than most people. I'm a very gullible person, and very trusting, so it's hard sometimes for me to believe badly of other people. (The totally heinous mess going on in Cleveland, TX right now completely blows my mind, just for reference.) I don't regret the things I've learned from the situations I've been in. Those situations did actually make me a stronger, more mature, more responsible person, and I appreciate that. I wouldn't be the person I am today without those events.
There will always be a part of me that thinks everyone should be required to work a year in the service/hospitality industry before they're allowed to go shopping or eat out in a restaurant. Unappreciative customers suck.
