On being good
Jun. 4th, 2010 11:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sorcyressI've been having a thing lately.
See, I am not much an expert at anything. I know a fair number of skills, some of them specialized, but I don't consider myself great at any of them.
Part of this is that I hang out with people who *are* great at them. When it comes to Are You a Werewolf, Marc (and Sparr, and Peter, and Ross) kick my ass, and Tony kicks all our asses, twice. I'm getting to be a good dancer, but between the Maryland crowd I hang out with (who've been dancing my lifetime and longer) and the New England crowd I hang out with (who recreate the dances and are serious enough about it to make themselves perfect), I can see just how many years there are between good and grand. And lately I've been screwing around with pieces of rope and a willing friend and seeing what happens, but seriously, it's just faffing1 about --I've seen what can be done, and I'm nowhere close.
And all three of these things I have gotten complimented on in the recent past. (Yeah, my Balticon was way better than yours, you wanna make something of it?) I've been told that I am somewhere between good and wonderful, and it just makes my poor mind reel, because I'm not good! Trust me, I know what good looks like, and I'm just not there yet.
What it really breaks down to, of course, is the fact that the common person has no training in these things whatsoever. In the groups I hang out with, of course I'm not the far right of the bell curve, but I certainly at least fall past the middle, and that can be seen as very impressive indeed by everyone below me.
So I suppose I'll stumble and smile and boggle and say thank you when I get complimented on something that I know someone else can do better and more elegantly than I. And I suppose I'll take this as a sign to practise everything, and see just how good I can get at the world --ain't no such thing as a useless skill2, after all.
~Sor
MOOP!
1: I love the term "faffing" or "faff". It is my goal to use it as much as possible, ideally without actually overusing it. The other word that I love right now is Lanthir, which is a name, and is just so wordporntastic that I'm going to have to send a weird e-mail.
2: zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcba. No, I didn't cheat, and I'd be happy to do it in reality for you sometime.
See, I am not much an expert at anything. I know a fair number of skills, some of them specialized, but I don't consider myself great at any of them.
Part of this is that I hang out with people who *are* great at them. When it comes to Are You a Werewolf, Marc (and Sparr, and Peter, and Ross) kick my ass, and Tony kicks all our asses, twice. I'm getting to be a good dancer, but between the Maryland crowd I hang out with (who've been dancing my lifetime and longer) and the New England crowd I hang out with (who recreate the dances and are serious enough about it to make themselves perfect), I can see just how many years there are between good and grand. And lately I've been screwing around with pieces of rope and a willing friend and seeing what happens, but seriously, it's just faffing1 about --I've seen what can be done, and I'm nowhere close.
And all three of these things I have gotten complimented on in the recent past. (Yeah, my Balticon was way better than yours, you wanna make something of it?) I've been told that I am somewhere between good and wonderful, and it just makes my poor mind reel, because I'm not good! Trust me, I know what good looks like, and I'm just not there yet.
What it really breaks down to, of course, is the fact that the common person has no training in these things whatsoever. In the groups I hang out with, of course I'm not the far right of the bell curve, but I certainly at least fall past the middle, and that can be seen as very impressive indeed by everyone below me.
So I suppose I'll stumble and smile and boggle and say thank you when I get complimented on something that I know someone else can do better and more elegantly than I. And I suppose I'll take this as a sign to practise everything, and see just how good I can get at the world --ain't no such thing as a useless skill2, after all.
~Sor
MOOP!
1: I love the term "faffing" or "faff". It is my goal to use it as much as possible, ideally without actually overusing it. The other word that I love right now is Lanthir, which is a name, and is just so wordporntastic that I'm going to have to send a weird e-mail.
2: zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcba. No, I didn't cheat, and I'd be happy to do it in reality for you sometime.
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no subject
on 2010-06-04 04:24 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2010-06-04 04:30 pm (UTC)...it's all persepective i suppose but i still think that a compliment Given is a compliment Earned. You dance marvelously in the eyes of others, i knit marvelously in the eyes of others, you Werewolf well in the eyes of others, i bicycle well in your eyes.. and all of those were completely earned regardless of whether we can get better or others do it better than us. They Just Are.
*huglges (i'm sure there's someone out there who, oh maybe YOU for example, who huggles better'n me) muchly!*
(and gods in heaven, you surely write better Elljay than me, hah *madly previews and fixes comment*)
no subject
on 2010-06-04 10:26 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2010-06-04 04:33 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2010-06-05 02:45 am (UTC)no subject
on 2010-06-05 07:55 am (UTC)Also, I know what you mean. I mean... I am good at dancing. In the sense that, if I was to dance with someone who could dance a little, we would have some fun and they'd think I was maybe kind of cool. When I look at the omfgawesomedancing on teh tubes or even the better people at clubs round town I think, y'know, that I'd be presumptuous to say I was "good" at dancing.
But I still should be proud if other people notice what skill I do have! I'm not, but that's because I'm silly in a number of ways, even in situations when I logically realise I should be proud of myself.