Glitter on my skin, under my sweater.
So, um, am I supposed to be spending my twenties rewiring my brain? Like, is that the general standard for this time in life? Because that's pretty much what I'm doing. Here's an overextended metaphor:
Childhood: Grow wires, connect them to things.
Adolescence: Rip wires out, tear them up, connect them to places they obviously don't belong, rip them out again. If any of the wires are live, touch your tongue to them.
College years: Nonchalantly plug wires back in almost at random, pretending the whole time that this is obviously the best and only solution. Sneer at people who make other choices.
Twenties: Look at what you did during college, realize you got every single thing wrong. Try unplugging wires, realize you stuck some gum in there and are totally effed. Look at wires mournfully. Drink heavily.
Thirties: ????
Forties and beyond: PROFIT!!!
Anyway, I've decided that irrationally difficult goals are the way to go. Of COURSE I'm going to be a "thought-leader" (gag) in the industry (by "the industry", I of course mean ALL INDUSTRIES). AND of COURSE my fiction is important. It's impenetrable for a reason and that same reason is why I'm going to win the Booker Prize and make a zillion dollars. Of COURSE I'm going to win a bunch of Grammys when I start writing pop songs. I'm going to save dance from obscurity and elevate it to the highest art form. I'm a beast and cannot be stopped. Who are you?
Childhood: Grow wires, connect them to things.
Adolescence: Rip wires out, tear them up, connect them to places they obviously don't belong, rip them out again. If any of the wires are live, touch your tongue to them.
College years: Nonchalantly plug wires back in almost at random, pretending the whole time that this is obviously the best and only solution. Sneer at people who make other choices.
Twenties: Look at what you did during college, realize you got every single thing wrong. Try unplugging wires, realize you stuck some gum in there and are totally effed. Look at wires mournfully. Drink heavily.
Thirties: ????
Forties and beyond: PROFIT!!!
Anyway, I've decided that irrationally difficult goals are the way to go. Of COURSE I'm going to be a "thought-leader" (gag) in the industry (by "the industry", I of course mean ALL INDUSTRIES). AND of COURSE my fiction is important. It's impenetrable for a reason and that same reason is why I'm going to win the Booker Prize and make a zillion dollars. Of COURSE I'm going to win a bunch of Grammys when I start writing pop songs. I'm going to save dance from obscurity and elevate it to the highest art form. I'm a beast and cannot be stopped. Who are you?