One of my father's mantras that I've adopted as my own is "Play Your Own Game". It means be yourself. Follow YOUR rules and not society's. Don't chase after OTHER's ideas of success and happiness but instead, find your OWN and go about achieving your success and happiness in a way that works for YOU.
I fully stand by this. I think it's a really eloquent way to say you should have integrity in your values and ideals, and not let external pressures make you deviate from what makes you YOU.
But lately, I've come to realize that my values in a particular area are not the norm. They're REALLY not the norm. I've yet to run into anyone outside of my immediate family that shares them. When I'm home visiting, that's no problem. "United, We Stand", and all that. We laugh at our jokes, enjoy similar activities, prioritize the same thing, and it makes everyone feel validated.
But "Divided, We Fall", and when I'm up in new territory, on my own, and I look around and people tell me I'm outdated to have the values I have, that I'm naive, that I'm inflexible to the changing times, that I'm CRAZY, I start to wonder if it's true. Yes, I try to play my own game, but people who play a SIMILAR game are few and far between.
So I'll pose the question: If you're the only person who thinks the way you do, are you "playing your own game" and displaying an integrity to be admired, or are you being inflexible to your surroundings and coming off as crazy to the predominant status quo?
Questions? Comments?
**On a professional note: I've just submitted to SXSW, the multimedia festival that was started in my hometown of Austin, TX and has blossomed into an international phenomenon! I'll keep you posted on whether I'm chosen. I'd love to return home to entertain my Texas fans as an artist! :)
