What made you, you?
Dear Blog Diary,
“It’s funny what a young man recollects…” - Forrest Gump
Wild to put in perspective the nearly infinite things that have impacted on your development. Introspection is like chess. The brain can only fathom so many possibilities. What really made you, you?
I know George Carlin played a big role in my sense of humor. Probably watched Fight Club too young and too many times. Bruce Lee.
I recall watching the anime Ninja Scroll as a boy. If you’ve seen it, you know the scene.
Enormous muscle monster guy Tessai is forcing himself on a woman. We find our hero Jubei in the corner. Tessai tells him to get lost. Jubei chooses to stay. Tessai’s entire body turns to stone and he asks if Jubei regrets not leaving. Jubei replies, “Your body can’t be rock hard everywhere” and then proceeds to throw a dart into his eyeball. Blood splatters.
Boyhood innocence gone. Just a tiny bit different than the Transformers I was used to.
I remember visiting my grandma in Florida and they wouldn’t let me watch Forrest Gump. “Too young.” In retrospect, hilarious how it was YEARS later that I realized Forrest nutted in Jenny’s roommate’s bathrobe when they were in college. So, maybe some innocence left.
I tear up every time Forrest sees his son for the first time. Forrest floats through life like the feather from the intro. We’re led to believe he rarely knows what he’s doing. He’s simple.
Jenny tells Forrest he’s a dad and his face is so expressive. He panics. It’s fear. She tells him how he did nothing wrong but that’s not what’s on his mind. His first question, “is he smart or is he…” Forrest chokes up.
Imagine finding out that you have a son and your first thought is “I hope he’s not like me.” Forrest is terrified that the world will treat his son the same as he was treated, despite the incredible man he is, reflected from his incredible life.
What made you, you? The irony is that even the closest person in your life will never know even a fraction of those stories. So all the "everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about"...it's actually battles no one will ever know about, and no one will ever care.
Don't be a dick.
Best,
E
#ARTiculate