When I was in secondary I used to struggle badly with ‘the cool crowd’. (I know you’ll find that very difficult to believe :-)) I never really seemed to fit in with them.
I soon found my comfort with a slightly less ‘cool crowd’ but one where I felt appreciated and valued.
I’ve since re-evaluated those memories as I now realise ‘the cool crowd’ actually weren’t as cool as I initially thought!
I met one of them recently on the train coming back from Edinburgh. His nickname at school was ‘Kempy’.
I thought he was super cool and, at the time, believed he was much more socially valuable than me.
I bumped into him as he was sneaking a ciggy in the disabled toilets (obviously developed into a pretty classy guy!).
When I asked him how he was doing he told me he was doing much better thanks…now that he was out of prison!
I guess Kempy wasn’t quite as valuable or cool as I originally thought…
Or perhaps I was a lot more valuable and cool than I gave myself credit for!
Isn’t it amazing how we often live out the myths and misconceptions of our past?
It’s almost like they suffer from Peter Pan syndrome…we grow up but they stay the same age.
It’s even more amazing when we start to re-evaluate them through older and wiser eyes. The myths and misconceptions fall away as we realize they weren’t really true to begin with.
They might have had an element of truth and purpose in that moment but, as time moves on, they become outdated.
What myths are you still holding on to? Who is your ‘Kempy’? Perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate? Perhaps it’s time to see them for what they really are…?:-)
Take Care,
Steven
