This sort of reminded me of a book – ‘The Giver’. Have you read it? Our class had to read it in grade 5, and I finally understood the book in high school (figures…lol). Its about a distopic society where no one has free choice and everyone is controlled by the society – they get told what their job is, who they will marry, and who their kids will be. The book was trying to explain how wonderful freedom is, and how much we take for granted. But sometimes I wish that there wasn’t so much free choice – I mean if someone came up to me and said, this is what you’re are good at and here is the perfect job for you, here is what you need to do to get there…I’d totally consider it. Even more so if they were a vision from the future, even though that’s a bit Sci-fi. I guess the fact that I could refuse and make a different choice makes it a bit of a moot comparison, but sometimes I wish I could go and talk to myself in the future, find out if I was happy, and either how to get there or what to change.
Its funny…about the same time you published this I was pretty much in this position. I’d thought I knew exactly what I was going to do after university, but…I realized I’d never really considered all the options and the ramifications. I was trying to explain to my best friend what I was thinking, and she knows me better than anyone else, and she really helped. Helped me sort through what I wanted and what I wanted to do for other people. My parents sort of helped, but I ended up going in circles. I guess sometimes the best you can do is make a guess, take a chance, and let everything else work itself out. And hope you didn’t mess anything up too badly…-.-
I hope you’ve been able to sort this out – or whatever is the source of this poem. Or at least decided to think some more. I know you say that inaction is the worst, but sometimes you just need more time to plan…make contingencies, and see what comes your way. Some of my best decision have been the result of nothing more than pure fate/timing, and most of my worst decisions come from worrying only about what others think.
The Suncreen Song says it all…”Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.” – Baz Luhrmann. If you haven’t listened to it/read the lyrics you should. Your poem really reminds me of it.
Glad you liked the poem. I appreciate your insight!
This poem was written at a time where I felt restrained by my own indecisiveness and I wanted to experiment with a spoken word rhyme scheme. I hadn’t really considered the big picture ramifications of it, as it was very much a personal exposition. Thanks for showing me how it can be applied more broadly! I guess it must be like authors of real literature feel, they write a book or poem, but don’t think consciously about the themes or metaphors that they weave into it, it’s a subliminal process. Maybe I do that more than I realize.
This sort of reminded me of a book – ‘The Giver’. Have you read it? Our class had to read it in grade 5, and I finally understood the book in high school (figures…lol). Its about a distopic society where no one has free choice and everyone is controlled by the society – they get told what their job is, who they will marry, and who their kids will be. The book was trying to explain how wonderful freedom is, and how much we take for granted. But sometimes I wish that there wasn’t so much free choice – I mean if someone came up to me and said, this is what you’re are good at and here is the perfect job for you, here is what you need to do to get there…I’d totally consider it. Even more so if they were a vision from the future, even though that’s a bit Sci-fi. I guess the fact that I could refuse and make a different choice makes it a bit of a moot comparison, but sometimes I wish I could go and talk to myself in the future, find out if I was happy, and either how to get there or what to change.
Its funny…about the same time you published this I was pretty much in this position. I’d thought I knew exactly what I was going to do after university, but…I realized I’d never really considered all the options and the ramifications. I was trying to explain to my best friend what I was thinking, and she knows me better than anyone else, and she really helped. Helped me sort through what I wanted and what I wanted to do for other people. My parents sort of helped, but I ended up going in circles. I guess sometimes the best you can do is make a guess, take a chance, and let everything else work itself out. And hope you didn’t mess anything up too badly…-.-
I hope you’ve been able to sort this out – or whatever is the source of this poem. Or at least decided to think some more. I know you say that inaction is the worst, but sometimes you just need more time to plan…make contingencies, and see what comes your way. Some of my best decision have been the result of nothing more than pure fate/timing, and most of my worst decisions come from worrying only about what others think.
The Suncreen Song says it all…”Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.” – Baz Luhrmann. If you haven’t listened to it/read the lyrics you should. Your poem really reminds me of it.
Fly,
~ Julia
Thanks for your comment Julia,
Glad you liked the poem. I appreciate your insight!
This poem was written at a time where I felt restrained by my own indecisiveness and I wanted to experiment with a spoken word rhyme scheme. I hadn’t really considered the big picture ramifications of it, as it was very much a personal exposition. Thanks for showing me how it can be applied more broadly! I guess it must be like authors of real literature feel, they write a book or poem, but don’t think consciously about the themes or metaphors that they weave into it, it’s a subliminal process. Maybe I do that more than I realize.
Hope 3rd year uni is going well for you!
Jordan
So strange how I stumbled upon this at a time where I am going through exactly what the poem is talking about. Wonderful poem Jordan.