A Sermon of Words

I've been considering how far sheer determination can go. At an author reading following the Hopwood Writing Awards two years ago, Tobias Wolff told me the single best piece of writing advice one can possess is the ability to persevere. To write everyday. To write through the shit, the good and bad, because there will be days when the writing is bad. Because, the success of an author is not who gets the lucky break, but rather who develops their repertoire enough. It is one instance in which determination outweighs raw talent. I'd like to say I have a little bit of both working in my favor. Maybe not that much talent, but if I can convince a crowd of a personal belief or that a story is accurate, I've done my task. There is nothing more rewarding than planting an idea in the head of another. It reminds me of the summer blockbuster, Inception. It is a dangerous trait to be able to use the power of suggestion and planting thoughts to alter the complete happenings of an individual. To either undermine or reinforce that which they wholeheartedly believe. I vouch that it was not my English, nor Greek nor humanities, arts, sciences or other various credits that made college worthwhile. It was the relationships. The people who walked in and out of my life these past four years. It is the worst they had to offer or the best they could possibly give. The heartbreaks and the turmoil, but also, the nights I dragged on all of too long. It was in the moments that shouldn't have happened were it not for a perceptive and observant grouping of minds. My friends are some of the best out there. I'm lucky for that. I'm lucky for my enemies and rivals too. If it weren't for you guys, there is no way I'd be as strong as I am now. Yes, yes, I'm very certain it all sounds so cliched. In some ways it does, but that is just because each person must draw such conclusions. It happens at different points in each individual's life. For me, it took all of high school and the greater majority of my college years. I now know the value of friendship, trust, love. I know who is real and how to detect that. I am aware of how to shape my words into a calming hypnosis-inducing trance of sentences, floating down a gentle stream like that of a water lily. It is an ambitious ability and one that should not be taken lightly. I've hurt many people saying too much of the right stuff. Likewise, I've tried to rescue people from themselves. You can't. No matter how hard you think an individual can be changed, I've just found it to be a futile waste of everybody's time. With that territory comes drama and many many long nights. Irrational thoughts and soundless arguments. The key is in finding the balance, between saying what is right and what may hurt somebody. Sometimes they are the same. Sometimes, you have to tell a lie. Always, you should do what you feel is right. At no compromise. If you believe you are right, you probably are. One way or another, the ever shifting world will calibrate to your actions. OK, I'm done preaching now. Just understand the power of a promise, the way words can be more beautiful than Adonis or Hera or any action. Don't abuse such potential. OK, now I'm really done preaching.