Being Wrong

Have you ever been told that "you always have to be right"?
Or
Have you ever told someone else they always have to be right?

Try this:
It's right to be wrong, and wrong to be right.

What is "being right"?

For students like us, it means knowing the truth - memorizing facts.
Facts are provable – Knowledge is provable.
And knowledge comes from a source: a textbook (written by people), a teacher (a person), The History/Discovery channel (more people) – and experience (you).

The first problem with knowledge is that it is documented by humans.
Humans make mistakes, forget, lie, embellish, and destroy.
In 2007 - we just do the best we can to figure it all out.

The second problem with facts, and the point of this e-mail, is that facts are knowledge from the past. The past could be 2,000 years ago, or 2 seconds. The people who remember could number in the millions, or one person. The world that is changed could be a small town – or the whole of the earth.

Knowledge is – extremely – important…..when it comes to:
-Remembering what came before us, so we don’t make the same mistakes
-Giving honor to people who changed the world – and how they changed it
-To give us a sense of perspective
-Realizing “what came before”
-To give life a purpose. Who cares what you do, if no one will remember it? If nothing will be changed by it?

However: Knowledge is the opposite of originality. Experience is the opposite of creativity.

Originality and Creativity – not [only] in the context of arts, but in everything - they are what fuel great change. Everyone knows that – but they know because a book said so – not because they lived it.

And when we rely on knowledge alone: we are stuck.
No innovation – good or bad – can come ONLY from knowledge.

School is about soaking up facts – and spitting them out.
Good student, average, or bad – it depends on A) how much you soak up and B) how much you care. That’s the secret – that’s it.

So what’s wrong with being right?
Being right means you are stuck.
Being right means you go on what you know – what you’ve been told, what you’ve read, and what you’ve done before.
This works in school.
This fails miserably in life.

What to do? BE WRONG.
Naturally, no one wants to be wrong. No one wants to be the person who has stupid ideas. No one wants to go through the trouble of being Original and Creative when other people will stop and stare, roll their eyes, ignore you, or laugh. Being wrong is a risk.

You can look at this risk in two ways:
- Risks are a measure of people. Those who don’t take risks, or mock other people’s risks, are relying on knowledge. They are trying to preserve what they are – they do not want change. Or maybe they are just afraid of it.
- Not all risks are good ones – but being WRONG has more POSSIBILITIES than being RIGHT. Being right is living in the past, being wrong is neither the past nor the future – it’s just a possibility. A really great wrong thing becomes right.

In the end, if you really believe in something, stand by it.

Taking the risk is not enough. After they mock you or ignore you – that is when you need to stand your ground. LET THEM KNOW YOU ARE SERIOUS. This is not a joke; you are not just being a smart-ass. If you want it done – do it yourself.

BE WRONG.

The Importance of You

Elpoep:

You have one life.
On this earth, at this time, in this body, with this mind. Etc.

For American males, you live an average of 74 years.
For American females, you live an average of 79 years.

It is not too early to think about how you will spend your life.

You do not have to wait to “live”.

While the lifestyle of MHS is restrictive and oppressive;
This gives you the opportunity to creatively find ways to “live”.

I’m not referring to drugs, alcohol, sex, or other things that we think are cool mostly because we’re not allowed to do them. The abuse of these things is one of the main reasons why we’re stuck here in the first place. Don’t repeat the mistakes that make really living impossible.

If you love the arts – you better be strumming, drumming, or singing every chance you get. I hope you're getting scripts out of the LRC and reading them out loud in your room at night. Draw all over your papers. It gives them character, and you get practice – you only need a goddamn 2.0 G.P.A. for art school anyway. Dance when everyone is looking.

If you love sports – why the hell aren’t you on a team? Fuck anybody who’ll say shit to you – they’re just mad they didn’t even have the guts to sign up. Besides, the underdog always wins – one way or another. And if you are on the team, set yourself apart from the other players in any way you can.

If you're into business/science/math/pathways/whatever else – read up on what you love. See how the people before you made it in their industry. Find new ways to maybe make that industry better. It only takes one person to start the domino effect that ends up touching everything around it.

Embrace your mistakes, your flaws, and your personal whatevers. Half the time they are considered style. They set you apart. They make other people remember you.

Always remember that this is a world is full of people.
Not superheroes. Not saviors. Not anti-Christs.
Anyone you’ve ever held above you as a figure of authority, power, or fear: Every stranger, police officer, president, administrator, doctor, teacher, parent, houseparent, or peer - is a single person.
People who make mistakes, regret, hope, love, bleed, cry, take a shit like twice a week, and have opinions.
All this world has is people – birth, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, old age, death – people.

Control your fears. It’s natural to be afraid. It’s common to understand your fear. It’s mature to get over your fear. It’s powerful to use your fear to create something positive.

Finally, learn to communicate. Since we all understand (by now) that life is short and important – why go another day holding in your thoughts, ideas, and opinions.

If you can’t find anyone who wants to listen to you here, talk to people on the internet. Write on bathroom stalls. Make posters. Write mass e-mails. Get your voice out.

Communication is huge because that’s the most direct, and complete, way we are able to express ourselves. It’s what sets us apart from animals. The ability to understand each other.

How many problems can you count that could have been completely avoided if two people had just bothered saying a couple words to one another?!

Anyway, I just wanted to say all this stuff to you guys. I hope you read it, though I won’t expect too much of a response. At least I got my voice out, right?!