I am not judging myself compared to anyone else. I'm not saying you're smart. I'm not saying you're stupid. If it comes to my mind while I'm writing this, it's more than likely going to be said. If you know my personally, you know that I am the last person to talk someone down, especially about intelligence.
For the most part, I tell people I don't have an imagination. This is untrue. I have quite the imagination, I just feel as though I utilize mine differently than most. Similar to typical imagination standards, my imagination entertains me. On the other hand, my imagination travels a different path than most. I don't have the kind of imagination that can dream up a masterpiece film like The Big Lebowski, or Pulp Fiction, or even Dazed and Confused. My kind of entertainment comes from pondering the "what ifs" in life. What if I won the lottery? What would I do? What if Jade Helm were to be everything the conspiracists make of it? (Definitely not buying into this, just using it as an example) I find it satisfying to play through these scenarios in my head, to see what I come up with, or to discover a point of view I've never seen before. I crave the feeling of seeing every angle. I even over analyze at times.
This imagination is most likely due to the amount of intelligence I have. I would say its no better or worse than anyone else's, but lets be real, we need to quit telling everyone that were all on the same level. We're not. There are ridiculously intelligent people, and there are ridiculously stupid people out there. For that matter, there are outrageously athletic people, and there are outrageously non-athletic people out there. So quit holding yourself or others to standards of others. Quit giving out the idiotic participation trophies to kids who are awful at sports or spelling bees. Don't reward people for coming up short. Rewards portrays a since of accomplishment, but what was actually accomplished? Let the individual fail. There's no greater motivation than failure, just ask Thomas Edison or Nikola Tesla. They didn't receive participation trophies. If they were the worst, they were the worst. They had to dust their ass off, work harder, dream bigger and make it happen. It's like training a puppy. You don't reward a dog for almost learning a trick. So why reward people for almost being the best? We as society need to realize that not everyone is going to be the best. Teaching children that they can be the best at something when it is clearly not true is even more horrible than telling them that it's not in the cards. Am I capable of being the president? Yes. Am I going to be the president even if I try my best? Maybe. The chances are beyond slim. So slim that I would even go on to say that no, I can't be the president.
This is where things get tricky, and I think this is where we, as society, get it all wrong. We overcompensate. We don't want children to become polluted, thinking they will never amount to their dreams, so we give them bullshit participation trophies that say, at least you tried.
If there isn't a trophy to run for, why are we running?
All that being said, I return to my original point. Imagination. My imagination took me for a spin tonight as I lay in bed. In the whirlwind of thoughts, scenarios, and possibilities, the phrase "No child left behind" stuck out. I started to try to diffuse the intention behind it. I understand the point. Give children all the same opportunities. The only difference is, we are forcing nature's hand. It is natural for there to be winners and losers. That being said if we don't allow there to be losers, we are, in turn, destroying the system. If there are no losers, then what is a winner?
We all have our place. Smart people, dumb people. Fat people, skinny people. Tall people, short people. Does the guy out back shoveling crap belong in the lab studying different strains of viruses with scientists? No. The same goes for the opposite scenario. We all have our place.
I know that we have the ability to change the course of our life. The only difference is, the chances of you going from the "ditch digging" type to the "T. Boone Pickens" type are slim to none. That doesn't mean don't try. I means do the best with what you have. If you come up short, keep trying. Then try until you don't want to try anymore. It is ok to not accomplish your goals as long as you have tried your hardest. Like I've been saying, some people aren't meant to hit the top.
The trick is being happy with the cards you're dealt. I would have liked to have been successful at sports like my dad. Did I accomplish that? Not even close. My dad was unanimous All-District MVP at basketball. I struggled to compete at the varsity level. Am I bitter about it? Absolutely not. I enjoyed the time I had playing sports, I don't regret one minute and I know I wasn't meant to be outstanding at basketball. I'm content with the cards I've been dealt.
Happiness is a choice. If you want to be bitter and bitch and moan about how life isn't going your way or how you want this and want that to change in your life, I pity you. Your life truly sucks, and until you can learn to be happy, I'm sorry you're going through that. I hope you choose to see the positives in your life, and choose to be happy. I know I'm going to be happy no matter what. Why not be if we have the opportunity?
DISCLAIMER 2:
If this post seemed to be all over the place with topics I am truly sorry. I started off compelled to write about one thing and it seemed to go down hill from there. Like I said, my brain functions fairly odd compared to others. Hopefully it made sense and if not, ask me about it. I'll try to clarify the best I can. Comments and debate are always appreciated.
