"You can be or do anything you want. You just have to go out and work for it."
When I was young,I believed it. Hell, when we're young, we believe everything the world tell us.
But,I had to think,as a child, why were my parents telling me this, yet, they never followed in suit?
Why didn't my parents, or anyones parents, for that matter, do what they wanted? Surely, leading by example is always the best way, right?
When I hit high school, I started to think what a load of garbage that statement is.
It happened when a kid came in to talk to one of the sports coaches about joining the wresting team. The problem was, he only had one arm and one leg. The truth of the matter was, even though he had heart, there was no chance of him joining the team. He would never be able to hold his own against the bigger guys and,for the ones who did give him a chance,they would hold back. I watched as he was passed on to every coach who was afraid to speak the truth.
That was the first time I questioned that statement. The one whose words came from every person,adult-wise,I had ever trusted. All kids are told that in america.
"If you are honest, hard working and have faith, you can achieve anything you want".
Sounds good,doesn't it?
When it finally hit home with me was when I decided I wanted to fly jets for the military.
As a teenager, I went to an officers recruiting office, for the USMC, before joining university. I wanted to know what was the best course of action for me to take to achieve the goal I knew I could because I believed. In the meeting,we all had a good laugh and I was really getting into the mood.
When I was asked if I had ever experimented with any drugs, I remembered what I was told about being honest. So, I said YES. That is when the whole mood of the office changed.
I knew right then, I was fucked. Even though I had been clean for over a year, I was told I could never join ANY flight program because I had tried ANY type of drugs. It made no difference how long I had been clean, my chances were gone. I was beyond gutted. I was in tears on the way home.
I figured,at that point,why go to college? There absolutely nothing I wanted to do, except fly. After a while, I decided to check out the Navy because, my second choice was special forces and,if I was going to do that, I might as well go for the best; SEALS.
I spoke to a recruiter, joined the Delayed Entry Program and 10 months into it, I found out I couldn't be a SEAL, or ANTY special forces for that matter, because I had to wear glasses.
Just a little bit of info my recruiter "forgot" to mention. But I knew enough about the military that I could get out of my contract. So,I did.
The next chapter was when I found I could be a chopper pilot in the Army AND wear glasses.
I was in heaven! I did all the steps to go to flight school,which I found, there was 2 ways; Warrant Officers Candidate School,which requires no college, BUT, you must have 20/20 vision and then there's OCS,which does require college and your vision can be up to 20/50 as long as it can correctable to 20/20 with glasses. I knew I was in!
I had my vision checked,I was at 20/30 and good to go!
Or so I thought. By the time I was finished,several months later, my vision was 20/80. Nice.
Eventually, I did enlist. What a joke that turned out to be.
Most of my life, I did "what I wanted". I traveled. I had experiences that most people only see in movies or read in books. I have been places people have never even heard of,even in their own country. My life has been quite amazing. I have collected quite a few stories and learned many lessons about life. I have become incredibly intelligent and a quite a competent sage to many. I have many friends who have lived their lives through me, only because I have had the courage to "do what I wanted".
I remember being a little kid in elementary school watching a tv show called Inside Out.
It was an educational show that was shown on PBS. One day, in particular, we were watching the show, but, I ended up watching everyone around me, as they watched the tv.
After we returned to our own class, we had a Q&A time about the show. Only this time, my teacher focused in on me, because she saw me watching everyone else. She asked why.
I told her it was because I heard a lot of "I wish..." going on and I got to wonder; why wish?
Just do it or go there. What was the problem?
So, as time went on, I stopped wishing and started doing because it was confirmed that I could.
Now, back to the present. No one told me there was a price to pay for "doing what you want".
That price is a HEAVY price to pay! At least, in most cases. When you hear about these so called "successes", from people who "did it their way" is one of two things, they did it by playing by certain rules, which no one tells you about until it's too late, or just by sheer luck. Nothing else.
My best friend in the world, has a great life. He has the "american dream."
Which is the wife,child, 2 cars, a great job and a house. He is going to have a great retirement.
He got all this by playing by the rules. He has paid his dues,paid his taxes, paid his insurance, gone to college and he had a good start in life.
BUT, he hasn't led the life of adventure, as I have. I have traveled, so has he,but under different circumstances, I have been in bar fights,stabbed,shot at, hob-nobbed with movie stars, partied on house boats in london, done really unbelievable things, compared to him.
That's only because he chose "the right path" and I chose "adventure and fun."
Hey, I did what I was told I could do :)
The price people like us have to pay: He gets a nice home and a retirement.
I get to spend the rest of my days homeless and living on the streets. A home of weather exposure and beds of concrete are my retirement benefits.
You see, the whole american dream of "you can be or do whatever you want is a total lie.
Unless the things you want to do or be is actually up to someone else. If you don't "appease those that be", in the right time line, you get nothing when you are ready to appease on your own timeline. They want theirs first,screw you.
The biggest fuck you is not paying your taxes. Man, you are SO screwed if you don't do that!
In my case, I never paid because doing "what I wanted" would have interfered in that. Not being a greedy bastard, I just didn't want to look at my kids and tell them dad is a miserable bastard because he wanted to see the world and working in a factory, to pay your taxes, would prevent it. So, dad opted to see the world. He wasn't born with money, so he couldn't just up and go when he wanted, he had to take the chances as they arose.
The price for that? No kids.
I found, if you keep traveling and have no money to fall back on, you keep traveling just to find your next meal. It is a massively lonely,yet, entertaining life, because everyone wants to hear your stories of adventure and experiences,but no one wants to help out with money,even though you are willing to work. Some of us, actually, a LOT of us, only want a hand up, not a hand out.
In the real world, you MUST have money. You MUST sacrifice freedom. Your "taxes" go to for some other dick head to go on YOUR adventures. What is the point of working your ass off for 40 years, take a"vacation" for 2 weeks out of each of those years, just to be too old to enjoy adventures when you retire? Why can't you do it the other way around? Or compromise?
Have fun til your 40, THEN go to school! Because we are conditioned to KNOW, 40 is way past the starting age of getting a life together. People over 40 can't possibly be any good as a newbie,can they? I have had several people tell me that it is not possible for employers to "get enough out" of a person who is "too old". I.e; you can't get enough taxes from "old people".
On the other hand, spending your life doing "what you want" and not joining the military or going to college or working in a factory causes you to miss out what I call the "3rd party verification". Meaning, no matter how smart you are, or how capable you are, or even willing, unless you have a diploma, or work record, or something from a 3rd party, which you must give all your money to, to verify you CAN do these things you claim, no one will even consider taking a chance on you.
Yes, granted, some people do get lucky. But, in reality, they are only about a 1/10 of 1%, at most.
But, in reality, people who live their own lives and don't follow the "herd", they are entitled to nothing but final days of misery. As I said before, no wants to give a hand UP, they don't even want to kick you while you're down. They just want to leave you and ignore, yet, they will revile in YOUR stories of adventure.
You won't be entitled to relationships,work opportunities, a roof over your head. All because people do believe, if you are a "loser" now, today, you will ALWAYS be that way.
Some people people think you only deserve ONE chance in life. Some may need more. Many more. But, the time will come, if given the chance. Or chances. For most, EACH chance is a learning experience and with each "failed" chance, some still walk away with something new.
It will all add up.
So, the myth of the "american dream" is just that. A MYTH.
You cannot do what YOU want, you can only do what "they" will let you do.
And "THEY" .... is a mother fucker!
