Reflections on 9/11

To start, let me say that this will not be a post commemorating those lost on that day ten years ago. There's certainly a time and place for that, and I appreciate those who do. But that's not my purpose in writing here.

A few months ago, I spied a Tweet from The NewsHour saying they were looking for people in a certain age range for a special project... I believe it was around 17-27, but that could be off. Anyway, since I'm in that age range, I responded. A few emails later, I was asked to prepare for a taped interview, and given a set of questions to answer. I could go refer to those questions now, but I'll just play it by ear and say what I feel has to be said.

In the past ten years, our country has seen some gains and losses. Ups and downs. Victories and defeats. But nothing has managed to pull us together like that chilling morning. We realized that we were weak. We could be damaged. We were not invincible.

And that made us stronger.

By seeing that we need to rely on each other, we realized that when we do, our strength is exponentially increased. Even something as simple as sitting together and being there for one another has incredible worth. But through the past ten years, something has changed.

We're fine with the relying on others part. Someone else will clean up after us, or someone else will answer the professor's questions in class, or someone else will protect me when I can't. And, sometimes, we all need someone else to do that. The problem is, we've forgotten how to be the one that can be relied on.

Of course, this is a generalization. There are those out there willing to step up and go the extra mile when others can't. But those people (which I'm not claiming to be) are few and far between. The allure of mediocrity is difficult to pull away from, and too many of my generation have given up. We need - not should, but need - to break through the routine of skating by and be willing to deliver above and beyond.

Because otherwise, what is there to honor? What are we trying to protect? If we give up and just skate by through life, hoping someone else will pay for our actions, we're missing out on so much and settling for so little.

Unintentionally Ironic Topic

Sometimes inspiration hits like a freight train. And sometimes it hits at 1 AM.

I'm more comfortable with the latter, to be frank.

I've been itching to write about this for about a week, and the topic has been forming in my mind for a while. The problem has been actually getting it down in a communicable form. (Again, the irony here is palpable. OK, that's enough self-criticism.)

This generation - The one I'm a part of; probably the one born between about 1980 and some time in the past 10 years, but I'm not sure - has an enormous hunk of potential. It's almost palpable. But for the embarrassingly large majority of us (myself included, all too often), it's left hidden. Hidden by fear. Hidden by pride. Hidden by insecurities. Hidden by embarrassment. Hidden by an unwillingness to try something, fail miserably, brush ourselves off and try again tomorrow.

I'm not sure what the exact cause of this is, but the symptoms are all around us. Overwhelming waves of apathy emanating from high schools and college campuses nationwide. Cringe-inducing essays among college students. Facebook News Feeds clogged with "im booooooored" messages that somehow get dozens of Likes.

This isn't a new trend, of course. Shakespeare warned against it in Measure for Measure through Lucio, saying, "Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt." History is littered with examples of hard workers who made a difference because they were willing to try. (Thomas Edison's quote about not failing, but finding 1,000 ways it doesn't work, comes to mind.) I'm having a hard time remembering any historical figures who got where they were by waiting for excellence to smack them in the face.

So what's the solution? Well... If I knew that, I'd be shouting it from the rooftops. I don't think there is one blanket solution for this problem. Here's what I think would help, though.

1. If you're a fellow college/high school aged person reading this, I'm encouraging you to stop being afraid and go do something. You know what I mean, right? You've been thinking about picking up guitar, or writing a novel, or auditioning for a musical, or reading the complete works of Shakespeare... Do it. Starting today. Find out what you need to do to do it, and then get started. The world isn't going to send you a signed invitation asking for your talents. There are other willing people out there. They may not be as talented as you, but they're willing to put their pride on the line. Be one of those people. Be willing to look like an idiot today and a genius in ten years. Or maybe just a more learned idiot. Either way, you'll be losing one major thing: Regret.

2. If you're of the older crowd (By which I do NOT mean you're old, OK? Just clearing that up), let me encourage you to demand more from my generation. Performing our duties competently and on time is a bare minimum, not a glorious achievement. Also, cookies are always nice.

3. If you're a human being, support each other's efforts. If someone's worked up the nerve to broadcast themselves to the world (and they're not just doing it as a stupid attention-seeking ploy), give them some constructive feedback. Let them know you're in your corner. Stepping out on a limb is lonely business sometimes. Remind them that you're with them.

Sometimes inspiration hits like a freight train. But that doesn't do any good unless you're willing to go with it.

Some Words

I'm writing a blog instead of vlogging because some of my college suitemates and friends are watching a movie in the common area and being rather loud at times, which would interfere with my recording. I'll come back to that.

Over the past few days, I've been told several times that I'm either smart or talented or something like that. "Josh, you must have a high GPA." (I do, but that's beside the point) "Josh, you're really good at Jeopardy." (That's because I watch it a lot) "Josh, you sure look funny." (Wait, I don't think anyone said that. Hmm. Maybe.)

Anyway. People say I'm talented. And it may be true. I'm still not convinced, but we'll go with it. I have two problems with this situation.

First, I don't have to work as hard as some would think at most of the things I'm talented at, so I feel awkward when people praise me for it. As a credit to my upbringing, perhaps, I find it natural to go to class, do the reading, pay attention, study hard and perform when asked. I've been taught to excel, not to fit in, and excelling means giving your all. I also have some amount of knowledge in most fields due to who knows what. Probably a combination of watching Jeopardy, West Wing, Monty Python and Whose Line.

Second, most of my talents are in fields that most people find intimidating. Math, theatre, physics, etc. But when it comes to things most people seem to consider easy, like small talk, I fail abysmally. Or, at least, in my opinion, I do. I may not, but I tend to feel that way. Also, the things I excel in require thinking at a higher level and being as specific and detailed as possible, so I find it hard to make the unspecific generalities that small talk seems to require in most situations.

Another thing. I'm not sure where this fits, so I'll just put it here. I feel at times that I'm "socially inept" because I try to avoid gossip/slander as often as possible, which seems to have become a popular pastime of the social circle I'm running with these days. I'm hoping to change that soon. I also try to avoid being rude as much as possible, so I may seem like I don't want to interact. 80% of the time, that isn't true. I just usually don't have the nerve to initiate the conversation.

I promised I would come back to the movie watching. Being loud and self-serving is not rarely my way. That doesn't mean other people can't be. But does that mean I can't be annoyed when they are?

Anyway. Time to play computer games. With my headphones on.