As a kid I remember nailing the dunk tank with a fast ball, but it didn’t go. The guy sitting there just looked around and avoided eye contact like he didn’t see anything — like he wouldn’t be paying attention. The lady said, “Oh, almost.”
“What do you mean? I pegged it.”
“You have two more tries.” She smiled until I looked away. I missed the next one bad, but I nailed my last attempt, however the guy still didn’t dunk. I threw my hands up. The lady couldn’t smile her way out of it this time. She let me walk up and press the stubborn red knob, kind of like a friendly execution. The man put on his goggles and braced himself with a dry swallow. I looked straight at him, the serendipity of success washed from my face by the bureaucracy of the carnival dunk tank, and watched him fall.
I got an audio recorder and figured I’d try to record myself singing just to see what I sound like. I sang a warm up song loud and free, but made a few mistakes. When it came time to press record I found myself holding back because I didn’t want to make any mistakes, but subsequently my singing sounded timid and unimpressive — safe. No one wants to listen to something safe, they want to hear something new and exciting and dynamic and emotional, even if there are parts of it that are awful. I’m just going to say it: the point of life is to sing your lungs out, mess up a few times, and be proud of what you’ve done by the time you hit the last note and listen to the playback.
As a kid, when you see people you know get married you don’t like it because you have to dress up and sit in a church and watch them stand up there for a long time. As a teen you find it more romantic and you’re happy for them and you enjoy the festivities. As a young adult you find it strange that your friends are getting married and having kids when you’re still just watching from the audience and saying “isn’t that nice.” You start to feel a sense of love, a sense of loss, a sense of urgency. You notice you’re not young anymore, and then you talk to someone who is even older than you and in the same position. They talk like they are supposed to catch the bouquet because they are older, and you still have time because you’re just a baby at twenty-something. You believe them for a second, and then you remember it’s not a race… but getting a head start is never a bad idea.
Why do people stereotype the word “stereotype?” Not all stereotypes are bad. That mindset just seems so stereotypical to me.
“Why do politicians never answer with a straight yes or no?”
It’s not that they want to explain their answer; they want votes. So if you answered “yes” or “no,” more people may agree with you, but more people may disagree with you. And if you’ve ever been on the playground, you probably remember the one kid who pushed you down or made fun of you once, once; and not the countless times other kids helped you out. Yes, politics is a bit like an elementary school popularity contest, and the one kid who doesn’t disagree with anyone ends up being the most liked.
I love it when people watch a zombie movie or something of the sort and say “that’s unrealistic. Everyone knows zombies are colorblind.” or something dumb like that… you know the whole concept is unrealistic, right?
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