I meant that literally.
.:Mr. Noah's Ark:.
Rarely do you see her pout…
So barring the semi-ultimatum… (Details of which I am not at liberty to spill.), Grace and I finally went and watched this puppet show that her school required them to buy tickets for. Fact of the matter is, the puppet show was actually fun, and I could hazard a guess that it was certainly a hit among the children. Gary Valenciano did the voice for Noah in this musical puppet show, and I must say that I immensely loved the wittiness the guy portraying had.
God: Noah, nobody's perfect. Except Me. But I'm God. And, Noah? God bless!
That was a classic line, without a doubt.
Anyways, Grace and I met up at my dentist before going to Music Museum for this rather unusual performance, and my main gripe is that the food in Music Museum costs an effing arm and a leg. I mean, come on! 84 pesos for a freaking Iced Tea? It's not even bottomless! What the Hades are these people smoking? Barring that, Grace and I had a lot of fun, and I must say that I'm exceedingly grateful to her that she's been there for me as both my girlfriend and best friend, hearing me out with my current situation. She wants to talk to a certain person before it's too late, lest misconstruances persist. Smart thinking, really.
For the most part, the date was uneventful, except for the fact that Grace's classmates were exceedingly nice. One of them, Lester, kept on ribbing Grace about her height, as we were more or less as tall as one another. Still, you can tell that Grace is “one of the boys”, as she's the only girl I know of in her class who openly looks for H... which is hilarious, as she tends to look for it for comedy value, to begin with.
Throughout the puppet show, Grace and I were struck by a bad case of LSS, as Mr. Noah's Ark was very much a musical. Let me just say that the beat of the songs were catchy, and I only regret that Gary Valenciano was nowhere to be found after the show (Apparently, everyone's voices were merely recorded.), so I didn't get to see him... but that's fine, I suppose. We ate out at Steak Joint after the whole thing, and then went straight home.
I felt a lot better after meeting up with Grace. Wish we could meet up more often, though, because that line last Tuesday by Rey about med school students ending up with one another because they're all they have really does unnerve me a bit...
.:Inspirational:.
Of all places for me to find this, I found this inspirational idea from Archie comics. This was a story featuring Betty, and I'd want to lift it and sort of contextualize it, but the idea is definitely coming from Archie comics. Heh. I suddenly got paranoid of being potentially called a plagiarist...
In any case, what I got from the comic book was simply a very interesting look at how Betty manages to get things done despite not being a natural for this or that thing. It was never really her character to be a genius (That's Dilton's stereotype.). It was never fully established that she excelled in sports (But Big Ethel was a natural for it.). It was never pointed out that she was a great thespian either (But Reggie, being a ham, obviously was. Or thought so.). In spite of that, nobody really calls Betty an idiot, a non-athlete, or a bad actress.
Why?
The answer is what stunned me the moment I read it: because if she can't excel at something, she tries harder. And that idea hit me: that's what I've been doing for years.
I never claimed to be a genetic genius. I bled for my grades. Rarely do I find a subject that I just completely breeze through because I'm such a natural for it. I was never a splendid debater, either. In fact, I had no high school experience. In spite of that, I was unofficially recognized as one of the best non-varsity debaters in the ADS because I tried harder, whereas guys like Bobby Benedicto hardly needed to make an effort to excel in it. I wasn't exactly lawyer material, yet I pulled out all the stops, and hopefully earned Atty. Perez' respect in his class last semester, by trying harder.
It's all about the interplay between potentiality and actuality. Just because everyone and their mother knows Charles Tan had the potential to graduate Cum Laude without much effort does not mean that someone who graduated With Honors by spending sleepless night after sleepless night trying to get there is less worthy than Charles would've been had he met that potential. Not to take away anything from his potentiality, the actuality, in this case, is the proof in the pudding: and there's no need for one to beat himself up over it because his achievements required effort, vis-a-vis other more natural geniuses, who don't even break a sweat while at it.
This is not to say that I have found the meaning of life through reading Archie comics (Maybe. But that's a long shot.). Still, the realization that people who are “superior” to me in different aspects are still people I can somehow keep up with through effort makes me realize that effort is every bit as important as natural aptitude, and regardless of one's potentialities, his effort will certainly make a difference. I am not capable of memorizing a poem upon first reading, nor am I capable of finishing a research paper within three days. Realizing my limitations, the challenge is to try harder. To best myself over and above besting others. It's solid advice, and though I can't guarantee that I'd take it to heart, I recognize that it makes so much sense.
Let's not forget the good old Avis tagline: We're Number 2. That's why we try harder.
Morning inspirations was brought to you by... oh, gee. Force of habit. =)
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