Realms of Mediocrity
I like being around artists. I like watching them work. Whether it's music, painting, drawing, acting, writing, I love watching them work. They aren't just working. They're creating, loving, living, doing what they do best, but with flare.
I don't like trying to be an artist around artists. It's easier to create when the people observing aren't better at it than me. I like winning. I like being unique. Drafting class last semester was hard for me. We all would work in one room, putting lines on paper, trying to be precise. I'm good at being precise. I can give you a construction line that is 36' long in 1/4" scale. I'm good at using a compass. I'm not good at shading things to give the illusion of dimension, or drawing 6' tall people (to scale, of course). There was a girl in my class whom I've known for quite some time, since my Junior year of high school. She'd draw caricatures of people in our class on the white board when the lines on the drafting vellum started blending together. I felt inadequate when she picked up the marker. In the time it took me to draw the molding on a column, a humorous depiction of our drafting teacher had appeared on the board, along with some crack about Poland rising again. I always did well on my drafting projects, I always got a nine out of ten; to get a ten it would have to look like a Ming Cho Lee. After seeing what a Ming Cho Lee draft looks like, I realized that I was destined to live in the realms of mediocrity.
There is some stuff I'm good at, I built a pretty cool looking table. My pride and joy last year. But I'm no Norm Abrams. And you can't make a living out of making pretty cool looking tables.
Friday, February 03, 2006
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5 comments:
Um. . . a 9/10 is NOT mediocrity.
"I don't like trying to be an artist around artists. It's easier to create when the people observing aren't better at it than me."
I agree. . . it makes it so much harder when people are watching, especially if they know what their doing.
Laura, there will always be people better than you, and always worse than you. You don't have to be the absolute best to make a living out of something or to still be good at it.
PS: You're table was indeed amazing.
oh that's Amy btw
dangit big sister, stop it. stop comparing yourself to other people.
you are who you are. and you're amazing. it's a big freaking world out there, there will ALWAYS be someone better than you at any given acitivity. see for me, basically every last one of those is Paul (bwahahaha, he will never beat me at video games though).
but you can't let it get to you. i know you got stuck in a family where you feel average. but you're not. and dad's not just trying to cheer you up. you have no idea how often he tells me the exact same things about you that he tells you about you (okay, that wasn't coherent, but i think you probably know what i mean).
i mean, you're smart, witty, far more musically talented than i'll ever be, all around fun, and just awesome.
you have to learn to be happy with who you are, find your worth and your identity in Christ, He sees you just as you are, and He loves you all the same. and, well, i see you a lot better than most people, and i love you to death (seriously, if love was like a weapon, you would be mauled, MAULED i say!). so yeah, buck up.
much love,
lil' brudder
Ummm...thanks guys, but for once can I please wallow in self deprication for just a few minutes?
Nope. :)
What kind of friends (and family) would we be if we let you do that?
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