Ok, fair enough. I mostly just wanted to use that as a title for a post (although cleverness is attractive, of course). If you caught the reference, you just won today's imaginary non-prize. Congratulations.
I actually want to talk about something else.
So very, very early this morning I read this, which links to another related post I read very, very late this morning after I woke up (because I'm a teenager, which means I have weird sleeping habits.) They deal with the bloggers' experiences with mental health...problems? Issues? Conditions? I'm not sure what the politically-correct and/or most-polite term is. They deal with mental health. Let's just go with that.
I encourage all of you to read both of them, but in case you're too busy gearing up for the Doctor Who premiere (who am I kidding, you all watched it online this afternoon just like I did) to read it, I shall now quote from the end of it:
"So, hopefully by now you agree with me that I am pretty screwed up. I want you to do that not because I desire pity, which would be fairly hurtful, but because someone this screwed up can get into a PhD program, be genuinely and exuberantly happy a couple times each week, and manage rudimentary human interaction to varying degrees of success. So, if you feel screwed up too, hopefully you will agree that it is possible that the ok life is a possible outcome."
I'm not going to write a soul-bearing post like both of those brave, admirable people did. If you really want to know all of my internal insecurities and whatnot, you basically just need to find my most abstract, "philosophical" posts, and read in-between the lines. I don't use personal examples with any of those, because I don't believe a blog is a place for people to freak out and ramble about their personal problems, nor do I feel particularly comfortable writing about mine in a non-freaky-outy sort of detailed way.
This is more to say that I appreciate those posts in more ways than one, and I think they both have important messages regarding self-awareness and working through things.
Because, gosh darn it, I do feel screwed up and insecure and all of that other totally un-fun stuff, and I'm sure you do as well from time to time.
So there are my thoughts on those posts. Now for what I want to add.
I think it's important for all of us to remember that everyone else on the planet has their own strengths, weaknesses, and difficulties. Everyone else on the planet has his or her own internal conflict and pain. And we have to keep that in mind when interacting with others, take it into consideration, and be as supportive and forgiving as we can without significant damage to ourselves. "Respect others as you would have them respect you" or something of that sort.
(Off to watch the Doctor Who pre-show before watching "The Impossible Astronaut" again-- with my family, this time. Allonzy.)
I am glad you quoted that part, sometimes I lose track of what my point was. I hope my post wasn't freaked out, but it certainly was a bit ramble-y. Unfortunately, seeing it there makes clear how poorly structured, "that it is possible that the ok life is a possible outcome," is. Now that it has been quoted, I can't decide if I want to ret-con it to something decent.
ReplyDeleteErrata: I "met" Clover through the Nerdfighter Ning. I'm glad you enjoyed the Dr. Who premiere, still yet to watch it myself. What is the reference, I feel like it is something either Cordelia or Anya said about Xander, but not certain of that?
No, yours wasn't freaked out. You were very straight-forward and sane about it, I think.
ReplyDeleteThe reference is from said Doctor Who premiere.