daze of glory

one class i took at Hillsdale was taught by a professor who was known for his stories.  the man had done it all, seen it all, knew it all.  he was a good teacher, and most students loved him.  i found that i had a distinctly different reaction.

i felt as if he were bragging — smug, almost.  i resented that he thought he had led such an amazing life, and he was so confident his life had been better than ours would be.

now, as i look back on that experience with some idea of how i operate in a "teacher" role, i think: 'that is exactly how i would be as a professor.'

SBoncé.  too many stories.

i measure the quality of life in stories.  not just any stories — stories that captivate, stories that inspire, stories that invoke disbelief.  basically, stories that necessitate a reaction from the listener.  the best stories are the ones you can tell to anyone, and you know they will listen.  they might judge you, but you'll have their attention.

so maybe student-me would judge teacher-me.

what's the motive behind teacher storytelling? motives matter...  sometimes it's an attempt to identify with the students.  sometimes it's to impress.  sometimes it's to entertain.  justify? pass time? and there's more.

there's a lesson here that keeps coming to my attention.  you can't please everyone all the time.  i know this to be true, yet i get caught up in the people-pleaser mentality way too often.  apparently, even i can be a fickle, wishy-washy human.

i know that my stories can be perceived in a negative light, from first-hand experience.  so why do i continue telling them?

the potential payoff is worth the potential backlash.

my primary motivation, other than to satisfy nostalgia, is to inspire.  i want people to realize that they can do more than they think they can.  that the way it is isn't the way it has to be.  that, sometimes, rules are made to be broken.

last spring break, when David Zaragoza and i flew to Hawaii, we had no plan.  no lodging, no day tours, no commitments.  we just agreed to meet there, and experience O'ahu.  this plan had its advantages and disadvantages, but it worked out fine (this is a microcosm of my life).  we spent the last few nights staying at a Navy corpsman's house on the Marine base.  i had never met the guy before, but we had a conversation in which he told me that he was amazed that we had come to Hawaii for a week with no set plans.  in his own words, it inspired him.  i inspired a soldier.

so.  if i talk about my Hawai'i experience, there are a multitude of potential reactions from my audience.  since i KNOW one of the possible reactions is "inspired", i have the assurance to continue.  the same goes for the rest of my ridiculous stories.      

a lot of stories these days glorify stupidity.  my goal is for my stories to push the boundaries, to be rated-PG (13?), and to demonstrate that intelligent, moral individuals can have fun, too.

my goal is also to continue collecting good stories.  i hate the idea that there is a point in your life where you only talk about things you used to do, instead of doing more things.

this one is a classic.

Vine-swinging Man-venture.

how many stories did you collect this year?