people are people
Yet another blog written when I have homework to do //
This one’s pretty short, and it might be (probably is) something you’ve already realized, but it’s relatively new to me for whatever reason.
People are people. That infamous “they” that runs the country, they’re people. That actor you follow more closely than your best friend is a person. The musician whose music you know every note and ad-lib of is a person. The valedictorian of your class is a person. Your role model is a person. You are a person.
I have the privilege of personally knowing many of my role models, and I love them and they’re awesome. But sometimes, when I haven’t seen them for a while, I tend to romanticize them. I make them ‘perfect’ in my head, like everything they do and think and breathe is flawless and unattainable. Then I spend time with them, and realize that this isn’t the case. They make mistakes, they say awkward things in conversation, their hair isn’t perfect. They’re a person. This doesn’t disappoint me, rather, it encourages me further.
See, growing up, I thought the president and CEOs and famous musicians, writers, actors, etc. were superhuman. Like, kind of human, but different than the rest of us, like they had an extra gene or two brains or magical guitar playing fingers that allowed for them to accomplish things and keep the world running. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that they’re just people who took their talent, practiced it, sacrificed for it, took advantage of opportunities, and really went for it. Not really different from you or me. Actually, no different at all.
You see, the Lord gave each of us a gift. Some different than others, but gifted in the necessary areas. Each of us. You, me, John Mayer, Isaac Newton, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Taylor Swift, your friends, your bosses, your family, that really annoying kid you don’t like. Everyone.
Basically, what I’m trying to say is to stop fangirling and freaking out over that actress or musician. Stop following every movement of your favorite athlete, scholar, or world leader. Cultivate YOUR gift and use it to serve the Lord and others, because you are perfectly capable of radically influencing this world.
I Philippians 4:10