Do whatever makes you happy

By: Louis De Gruy – Columnist, Senior

When I was originally thinking about how to write this article, I could only think of one way to start it: by asking the question, “Has there ever been something, like a hobby or a sport, that you gave up because you felt like you weren’t good enough or it wasn’t a ‘good idea?’” And then, as soon as I wrote that, I realized that everybody has asked the question.

It’s a broad rhetorical question with such an obvious answer that it’s stupid to ask.

If you’ve never given up on anything, well then, good for you Mr. Fireman Astronaut Dinosaur Trainer!

You can stop reading now and continue on your merry way doing whatever it is that perfect people do.

For us normal people, including Miley Cyrus, we believe that the source of those negative feelings is a “voice” inside our heads (telling us, “You’ll never reach it”) but I think that provides a scapegoat more than anything else.

If you’re a healthy, sane individual, how can a voice in your head be anyone’s but your own?

By personifying this “voice” that tells us to quit when we’re ahead, we separate ourselves from our own self-doubts to the point where they are an entity unto themselves.

To me, compartmentalizing ourselves in such a way allows us to distance ourselves from the responsibility of actually persevering in what we set out to do.

Don’t get me wrong, the biggest obstacle I face when I’m pursuing something is my own self-esteem. I’ve started three blogs and let them fizzle out because I thought, “Nobody really cares about what I’m writing here, so why bother?”

I’ve also started to learn Spanish, German and French and to play guitar, only to then tell myself I would never be any good for it to matter.

So, only after a few weeks (at most) of practice or writing, I stop.

Coincidentally, this mindset is also what’s been preventing me from writing as much as I would like to for Flyer News.

It’s not for lack of topics; it’s just that I veto ideas out of hand because I think that writing about them would be pointless.

It was only a short time ago I realized that was also stupid.

The thing about hobbies, particularly creative ones like painting or writing, is that they exist simply to be an outlet.

They are for you and only you. In other words, the only motivation you should have in pursuing an art or sport is whether or not you want to.

If it seems like it would be cool to learn, do it.

It doesn’t matter how long it takes to become proficient at it.

Heck, it doesn’t matter if you ever get good at it.

As Miley says, all that matters is the climb.