Not a Natural
I'm a fan of the movie Rocky. Pretty much every single one except Rocky V cause that was um, well, every franchise series has to have a little room for a flop in there. Having said that, I love the premise of a "nobody" becoming a somebody. I love the idea of the underdog and I find myself always identifying with characters who fit that mold, both in theaters and far more importantly in person.
I have a lot of friends and I will tell you my closest are a hodgepodge of average, regular folks who can be just a little on the crazy side. They're regular people with all the problems, issues, flaws and insecurities I have.
I am by far not the strongest, fastest, or most perfect guy. I am far from a natural. I think the only thing I've ever been a natural at is talkin' smack, eating, sleeping, and watching tv. I'm actually pretty good at those things. Other than that though, all those things which would actually help me? Nope, not a natural at any of them.
I have friends who are natural athletes, who walk by a gym and grow an inch of muscle to their arms while I seem to always find the inch they lost lodged comfortably as a squishy substance around my gut. I have friends who could come to school one day a week when we were kids and ace that math test while I was so terrified of the problems, I could barely spell my name right. I have friends for whom the secrets and mysteries of the universe just seem to magically pour in their brains. I love them all and at times like any other human being who isn't like them, I envy their natural abilities.
Having said that, I am by nature a survivor. I assume most of us who aren't "naturals" are. We learn to use whatever skills we do have to succeed where others wouldn't. We tend to turn adversity into opportunity and we get up everytime life knocks us down, even if it takes us a moment to catch our breath.
I regularly find myself inspired by friends and family who are non-naturals. How can I not be impressed by the single mom who somehow found a way to finish her education and raise her children well? How can I not be moved by the heavy friend who chooses to lose a ridiculous amount of weight and caps it off with some amazing feat like finishing a marathon? How can I not find myself almost in tears when I see someone who was a former slave to poverty, drugs, or alcohol now a role model for their children and community?
Friends, I may never be an olympic-caliber athlete, I may never have the intellect of an Albert Einstein. I may never have the looks of a cover model or the charm of a teen heartthrob and luckily for me, neither will most of my closest friends. Even luckier for me is we are all A-OK with it, because we work hard for the successes we achieve and somehow that seems to taste a little sweeter than if it were easy. You can't truly relish the good without having suffered the bad. Successes just seem better when you've worked your non-natural butt for them and still come out on top.
So for all you naturals out there, we love you, we sometimes stand in awe of you and maybe even wish we had it so good every once in awhile, yet I wouldn't give up my regular, non-natural life for a second to be one of you.
Here's to all us average Joes and Joettes out there who work what we've got clawing and scraping our way to the top. For us, the view is just a little more breathtaking when we finally get to where we're going, because we'll truly appreciate the effort it took to brave the climb.
I have a lot of friends and I will tell you my closest are a hodgepodge of average, regular folks who can be just a little on the crazy side. They're regular people with all the problems, issues, flaws and insecurities I have.
I am by far not the strongest, fastest, or most perfect guy. I am far from a natural. I think the only thing I've ever been a natural at is talkin' smack, eating, sleeping, and watching tv. I'm actually pretty good at those things. Other than that though, all those things which would actually help me? Nope, not a natural at any of them.
I have friends who are natural athletes, who walk by a gym and grow an inch of muscle to their arms while I seem to always find the inch they lost lodged comfortably as a squishy substance around my gut. I have friends who could come to school one day a week when we were kids and ace that math test while I was so terrified of the problems, I could barely spell my name right. I have friends for whom the secrets and mysteries of the universe just seem to magically pour in their brains. I love them all and at times like any other human being who isn't like them, I envy their natural abilities.
Having said that, I am by nature a survivor. I assume most of us who aren't "naturals" are. We learn to use whatever skills we do have to succeed where others wouldn't. We tend to turn adversity into opportunity and we get up everytime life knocks us down, even if it takes us a moment to catch our breath.
I regularly find myself inspired by friends and family who are non-naturals. How can I not be impressed by the single mom who somehow found a way to finish her education and raise her children well? How can I not be moved by the heavy friend who chooses to lose a ridiculous amount of weight and caps it off with some amazing feat like finishing a marathon? How can I not find myself almost in tears when I see someone who was a former slave to poverty, drugs, or alcohol now a role model for their children and community?
Friends, I may never be an olympic-caliber athlete, I may never have the intellect of an Albert Einstein. I may never have the looks of a cover model or the charm of a teen heartthrob and luckily for me, neither will most of my closest friends. Even luckier for me is we are all A-OK with it, because we work hard for the successes we achieve and somehow that seems to taste a little sweeter than if it were easy. You can't truly relish the good without having suffered the bad. Successes just seem better when you've worked your non-natural butt for them and still come out on top.
So for all you naturals out there, we love you, we sometimes stand in awe of you and maybe even wish we had it so good every once in awhile, yet I wouldn't give up my regular, non-natural life for a second to be one of you.
Here's to all us average Joes and Joettes out there who work what we've got clawing and scraping our way to the top. For us, the view is just a little more breathtaking when we finally get to where we're going, because we'll truly appreciate the effort it took to brave the climb.
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