I hate inspirational .pdfs

Please click here to read what I'm about to complain about.

I am absolutely fucking exhausted with these inspirational .pdfs. Really. The entire piece is about how all of our potential faults and shortcomings are simply areas of potential and self-discovery and self-betterment. It reads like an after school special or something, and if you are the sort of person that reaches out to inspirational blog posts on the internet to find self-betterment, then I suppose you would find some kind of strength in what Rendall is saying. To me, however, it all seems fairly trite and obvious--but then again, it is finals week, and I am feeling inherently negative. Rendall would probably twist that to tell me that I'm a realist and how wonderful that is. I'm inhabiting this entry, how delightful. Anyway, I’m going to critique three of his however-many points and attempt to apply them to my creative process even though it pains me to do so.

Entry three is one that caught my eye, simply because it has a pretty chart. It lists a series of "weaknesses" and the strengths that are associated with said weakness, thus negating the idea that there is anything inherently wrong with any of us. Well, I don't think that's true, because everyone is flawed--especially those people who think that they aren't. I think, in general terms, however, there is some truth to the list. I find myself to be incredibly unorganized, an yet I manage to pull the scraps together and form a creative output. My friend, who is a programmer for a living, is quite the opposite. Inflexible and stubborn, he always gets the job done and in a timely manner, but it is simply a matter of inputting data and getting things done.

Point four takes the stance that one should not try and fix their weaknesses, but rather understand that they have limitations. I think that this is an important thing to understand, especially to college students and especially to media students, when we seem to think that we can take on the world. The truth is that we all have limitations and driving too hard to overcome these will lead to issues elsewhere in life. Media is a group-oriented career. It is important to find someone who can compliment you. One of my weaknesses is my procrastination, but when I'm working on a project with a friend who has seemingly boundless and unrestrained enthusiasm, I'm more likely to get work done. It isn't a matter of me "fixing" myself, it's a matter of finding my place and finding people who can compliment me and draw product out of me.

Point eight makes the stance that attempting to be "normal" is the incorrect way of doing things. It is better to be bizarre or unique or, above all, exceptional. Media kids are very often slightly outside the box, in terms of thinking and in terms of behaving. It would be strange if we weren't, spending 12 hours shooting on a Saturday instead of going out to a rager. As a kid growing up, I was one of those creepy Tim Burton/Stephen King types. Reclusive and angsty--a prototype emo, perhaps. I've since learned how to be a more sociable person and how to extend to work in environments that are not necessarily my own. Deep down I'm still that strange and unusual kid, but it is something that now helps me rather than distracts me in my creative process.