THE SURVIVAL OF THE U-N-F-I-T-T-E-S-T
"HERE'S to the crazy ones,
the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers,
The round pegs in the square holes,
the ones who see things differently.
They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can't do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They push the human race forward."
And while some may see them as the crazy ones, I see genius.
Because the ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones
who do." - Apple computer
From the very second we take our first breath outside our mother's womb, we are already baptized into the world of the Great Expectation.
As a mere seconds-old member of the human race, we are immediately the subject of scrutiny. High hopes are thick for us to be alive, to be healthy and kicking, to possess ten fingers and toes, and to look like a damn cute baby. Soon, we are expected to walk a straight line, to stand on our own, and to utter a cool word that our parents can brag to their peers about.
Later on, we are compelled to be driven and intelligent, to get into a good school and somehow comprehend the strange vocabularies of Algebra and the mystifying equations of History, Literature and--for God's sake--Balarila, while simultaneously trying to pass the more difficult tests of even tougher subjects--the people around us.
We thus try to find our comfort zones among the chick cliques and the sly guys, at times molding ourselves into closed circles even if it means conforming our wonderfully misshapen mindsets due to the fear of being labeled as an outcast.
And if we manage to pull through, unscathed, through the prickly tangles of school and face the so-called "real life," we then realize that it's pretty much a similar situation, only with different subject matters. Getting a good job, finding "the one true love," to marry and have beautiful children, likewise still pressured by the alarming bells of time to get it all done at the "right age" before you're labeled either a slacker, a dead-ender or (gasp!) an old maid.
Even to be seen at the "right" places, to look good, to be attuned with the trends of the moment, just to once again, be faithful to the bewildering religion of cool. Yet recalling a line in "Almost Famous,"--since when did we put such a high premium on being like everybody else?
The Passionistas
Indeed, in a most Darwinian sense, life is really a survival of the fittest, as we are constantly trying to fit in into boxes, circles, invisible lines drawn around us by a society that is more often cruel than comforting.
Yet therein lies the difference between those who opt for comfort and conformity, and those who choose conviction. The passionistas who stand outside those perceived closed circles to create their own space, to live out their own lives because they have come to understand that believing in themselves and shaping their dreams into realities despite the dictates of society is the mindset that can move the world. To paraphrase Dale Carnegie, it's these very people who choose to play their hearts out with their own little instrument in the orchestra of life who create the most beautiful music.
I've always been attracted to these revolutionists, especially in our 2-degree of separation society of Manila where it's just so much easier to opt for convention rather than creation.
It's inspiring to immerse myself in conversations among musicians, independent filmmakers, painters, photographers, designers, NGOs and writers, perhaps because (in spite of a lack of a steady paycheck), they believe in their art. Be they labeled as "eccentrics" or "rebels," I pick up ideas that form a pastiche of an ideal mindset of what our country's youth can emulate.
They have unconsciously grown out of image concerns, have become averse to apathy, and dignified themselves through their progressive endeavors. In many of these conversations among these avant guardians, I've stumbled upon a common denominator--that in pioneering something innovative in spite of the slings and arrows hurled at them by closed minds, there is always a high risk of failure. Yet that first brave step in pursuing one's own beliefs and talents somehow eventually leads to a greater wisdom and self-understanding that one would never have attained had fear been a factor.
For it is always infinitely better to be a first-rate version of yourse lf than a second-grade version of somebody else. Takes a while to break free from the box, but when it finally happens, the first breath out of it is damn e-x-h-i-l-a-r-a-t-i-n-g.
-Tals Diaz
