I’m watching Amelia (the Amelia Earhart biopic with Hillary Swank and Richard Gere) and I can’t help thinking that life is much easier if you just image you are living in your own biopic.

Now, of course, teenagers are already doing this, and doing it wrong, I must say, since they are focusing on recreating the rewards of idols rather than the drive and determination that got them there. If this comes off as obtuse, I mean they focus on the trappings and partying rather than the long days training and rehearsing. To go even further on this tangent, I believe Making the Band was one of the best reality tv series since it actually showed the grueling training schedule wannabe stars went through on the slim chance of making the band.

Going back to the main topic, it is a conceit in many biopics that the protagonist seems to have an unswerving drive that leads them inexorably to their goal. While there may be moment of self-doubt, it seems to be only for dramatic tension and the character quickly regains their composure and focus.

Unrealistic, though this may be, it seems like a worthwhile ideal to cultivate especially when you are unsure of yourself.

Whether it is dealing with barking dogs of people yelling things out of cars when they pass me while out walking, or continuing to go back to write in this space, it is useful to imagine that like the protagonist in Julie and Julia, it is all part of a grand journey culminating in bigger success. And I just have to muddle through it.

One of the “truths” I recently came upon is that if you want to succeed, you cannot let yourself be deterred. You have to keep on doing what you need to do to reach your goal. Personally, I think that a necessary corollary is that you always have the ability to decide that the band is never going to make it and maybe you should put away the guitar. You have the power to evaluate your goals and decide which ones are worth pursuing and which should be left by the wayside. [I seem to be writing a lot in clichés today.] However, for the goals that you keep, you have to keep moving forward on them. That is the only way your will ever succeed. It would just be easier if you knew there was a victory scene coming up in the third reel.

photo credit: marfis75

I like children’s stories. It’s is hard to say this without a touch of embarrassment. After all, what does a man in his early 40s find to appreciate in stories aimed at readers a quarter his age?

For me, it is the notion that there is notion of possibility. That the future has not been written and there is still choice and the opportunity to do something amazing in it.

Check out this description from the back of “The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate”:

The summer of 1899 is hot in Calpurnia’s sleepy Texas town, and there aren’t a lot of good ways to stay cool. Her mother has a new wind machine, but instead, Callie’s contemplating cutting off her hair, one sneaky inch at a time. She’s also spending a lot of time at the river with her notoriously cantankerous grandfather, an avid naturalist. But just when Callie and her grandfather are about to make an amazing discovery, the reality of Callie’s situation catches up with her. She’s a girl at the turn of the century, expected to cook and clean and sew. What a waste of time! Will Callie ever find a way to take control of her own destiny?

Who doesn’t feel this way at times? Is this all there is? What about making something worthwhile?

It is expected that by a certain age we should know what we want.

• Pick a practical major.
• Get a real job.
• Buy a house.
• Save for retirement.

I know I am channeling a bit of the Vocational Wheel episode of Back to Work discussing the quarter life crisis and reinforced the notion that it is ok to not know what you want to do at 25 (or even at 40).

In children’s books, or Young Adult fiction (which sounds as odd to my ears as calling comic books “graphic novels” did about 10 years ago), this notion is accepted. It is ok that you don’t know what you want.

So, I still find value in “coming of age stories” and even though I am entering my fourth decade, I still feel that I am coming of age.