John, Dave, Justin and Jowanza
I’m always fascinated by what it is that draws people to each other. We all go on our own journeys of self-discovery and figuring out what it is that we like and don’t like. What it is that makes us happy, or initiates that feeling of interest and starts us down a rabbit hole. We figure out what it is that we’re good at, or that we at least feel knowledgeable enough at to be serviceable to the people around us and feel like we’re contributing in some sort of way that will help us make a living.
Or maybe I’m overthinking it and things are a lot easier than that. That people just become friends because things brought them together somehow and they feel like the other person has good character and hasn’t truly wronged us. And maybe if they did, it wasn’t out of bad intentions, so we can forgive them a little bit.
Something I think about often is how people can be easily misunderstood. It’s probably because I self-criticize often or I hear often from people that “you crazy dawg/bro.” There’s reason for it obviously and it’s because I say shit to test the waters often and then in my own head, I decompress and figure out my own opinions about how I feel about everything. Those things go unspoken and the rest is what other people see.
But the idea of someone being crazy is them saying things that we don’t yet understand. Or maybe we do and we just disagree. Regardless, someone has gotten to a formulated opinion by all of the things that has led to where they are now.
On a personal level, I think most of the time if I don’t know something, I’ll just be quiet and listen and ask questions. The times I do know things, I like having fun and finding the three levels deep of humor to it. It’s like how Norm MacDonald thinks the perfect joke is the one where the punch line is the same as the setup. This is the one he says is the closest he’s ever gotten to a perfect joke, “Lyle Lovett and Julia Roberts were divorced today. The reason: he’s Lyle Lovett and she’s Julia Roberts.” I love that because it already assumes you know who both of those people are, can make an informed opinion about it, and then go right back to the basics.
Another thing I think about often, and I’m sure I’ve written about it multiple times because I always think about it, is:
1) Wrong for the right reason.
2) Right for the wrong reason.
3) Right for the right reason.
When you look at something initially, it doesn’t seem complicated. And that’s good because if it’s easy to you, you’ll become more interested. When you get down into the weeds, you realize there was more to your initial perception than just the basic explanation for why something acted the way it did. Afterwards, you look at the most basic thing and can have an appreciation for it because there are so many factors as to why it exists or is a certain way.
Before I forget, and while I’m thinking about Norm, this is what he thinks about people who are considered difficult or crazy (from his AMA 3 years ago):
“I was just on twitter talking about Roseanne [Barr] because she gave me a first job, and I thought of her and [Dave] Chappelle who I have both worked with, and who have both been called “Difficult” or “crazy.” And that word crazy when it’s applied to an entertainer can torpedo their career. One time I was on a show, and I wanted to get Burt Reynolds to play my father, and the director said ‘You don’t want Burt Reynolds, he’s crazy.’ I said ‘I don’t want you to be my director. I want Burt Reynolds.’ So crazy just means creative. And difficult just means hardworking, and opinionated. And Roseanne was a victim to this specifically because she was a woman, which is very sad. But that’s all I was saying.”
That last part… after seeing Roseanne’s tweets recently, I feel differently lol.
I say all that to say, we’re all pretty dynamic. It’s pretty amazing if you think about it. Specifically, I think the four of you are really great people and I learn from you all often. In a time of my life where I’m reevaluating everything, from my budget to what I eat to my family to etc., I think it’s telling that I still go back to what you all say and seriously take it into consideration. I believe that means that you all do great things that others can understand and believe in. That you also have great character. That when you have a bad day, people are probably like, “Wait, you have bad days, too? Get out of here.”
When I spend time thinking about it, I’m extremely grateful because I could have just as easily gotten to that point with people who spread negative energy. And so, before I go on too long, I hope you all know that while we all get stuck in our habits and daily lives, somewhere in the back of my mind (and currently in the front), I am rooting for all of you to succeed in whatever way you determine yourself to be considered successful, happy, or content. You’re more than capable of it, and I hope you don’t stop pushing yourself even further.