A few months ago I mentioned I was going back to school for fashion design. I was so excited. My heart was brimming over with joy at how awesome it would be. I skipped to my car the day I got my first textbook.
Yeah, it didn’t quite work out as planned. Telling you the Whole Awful Tale would require me to relive it a little, and that’s just not going to happen, so instead I will tell you two other things that will sum it all up. And then at some point I’d love to tell you all the amazing insights that came to me as a result of school Not Working Out, but that’s a post for another time.
First thing: I have a friend from Philly (Philly is where we met, she left even before I did) who had a friend named Bob. I only ever met Bob a few times, and as shitty fate would have it, he died back in the 90s, but Bob lives on in my memory (not to mention the hearts of the people who were lucky enough to know him more than peripherally) because of one legendary line.
Bob was dating some guy who I’m sure had something going for him, but it wasn’t enough, and Bob was dumping the guy, and the blow was delivered with the following quote:
“I’ve lowered my standards, and you still haven’t met them!”
I don’t think I need to draw the obvious parallel for you.
Second thing: I’ve been rewatching movies we own recently, trying to parse out what it is I love about them. One of those movies is Kate & Leopold. Besides the obvious (it stars Hugh Jackman), I like this movie because of its underlying messages: that the simplicity of the past is a balm to the soul, that integrity matters more than almost anything else, and that even if something seems too impossibly good to be true, it still might be true. Oh, and it contains actors in cool period costumes. Drool.
The two quotes from the movie that pertain here come during the scene (3:24 to 5:25 in this video) when Kate and Leopold are arguing on a jetty (dock? what do you call that place?). Leopold has just walked off the commercial shoot after having tasted Farmer’s Bounty for the first time in all its hideous diet glory. Kate’s trying to get him to come back, and he says the phrase that is most relevant to the school experience:
“…peddling pond scum to an unsuspecting public.”
He tells her he “want[s] no part of it,” and continues (so perfectly haughtily):
“When one finds oneself participating in an endeavor that is entirely without merit, one withdraws.”
I think that pretty much sums it all up. And in telling you this way, I got to think about hilarious Bob and dreamy Hugh Jackman, so it didn’t even hurt a bit.
That’s what happened with school. Onward to the next adventure.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Your blog looks great! And your explanations for withdrawing from that merit-less endeavor are perfect.
Darcy, I’ve been looking for an original quote but can’t find it, so I’ll give the paraphrase and the context I first heard it.
While a contestant on “The Next Food Network Star,” Melissa d’Arabian (who wound up winning) used a quote and its attribution. She said something like, “There may be nothing worse than succeeding at the wrong thing.” She went on to explain that she wasn’t there only to win, but to do what she felt she was born to do.
She said, “I may fail, but I’m failing at the right thing.” It was a stunning quote. If school was not a good journey for you, it can’t have been taking you to a good destination.
Steve, That quote reminds me of what came out of the mouth of the most resentful-looking therapist I’ve ever met, who I went to see at college because I was considering quitting crew. She said, “I was told I’m good at ice climbing, but I didn’t like it. Just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean you have to do it.” Case closed! Though this quote doesn’t have the positive reverberations of yours, it was indeed helpful!