Hugo Dürr
Normality Is Overrated
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Normality Is Overrated
Everyone makes their own fortune in life. There is very little that comes to you for free, without any effort (apart from the pockets in your trouser, of course). This rule is also true for the amount of attention paid to you. You yourself are completely in control of how much people pay attention to you, both positively and negatively. Knowing the secrets and truths of why and how you draw attention to yourself is invaluable knowledge to have in your pockets.
This can of course be applied to any situation in life, but now let us focus on EYP, and the 11th National Selection Conference of the European Youth Parliament Turkey. There are various ways in which you can be successful in drawing attention to yourself here, such as; wearing big, frivolous, colourful clothes, like a grand red overcoat, or mastering an eccentric and curious hairstyle. The physical appearance of you is the very first impression people a will usually get of you, though that is certainly not to say that you must dress something out of the ordinary to be recognised, but it is usually what will initially draw eyes to you.
During your teambuilding and committee work, there are several aspects that you should consider pocketing. These include being the first to volunteer at any and all opportunities and never being afraid of speaking your mind and stating your opinion, even if no-one agrees. The fact that you are willing to fight your corner for your argument is impressive. With you displaying willingness and enthusiasm at all times will not only show that you are engaged with what you are doing, but it will also encourage and motivate the rest of your committee. Above this, you’ll portray your hyperactive persona, which will without a doubt attract attention. Moreover, one of the absolute most vital aspects of these days is, quite obviously, working as a team (hence the conveniently named “teambuilding” activities). If you as a committee do not succeed as a unified entity, then you don’t stand a chance of making it individually. Involve everyone in discussions, let everyone finish what they are saying without being interrupted, and, almost most importantly, have fun. This is not so much to do with making an impression, but it is important to remember that this is a chance for you to network and get to know new people who you never would have had a chance to meet otherwise. Make an impression on people who also make an impression on you, and by this form of effective networking, you will have massive matrix of networkers in your pockets. They are priceless and essential contacts for you to have for future undertakings and endeavours.
With all that being said, there are two more concepts I urge you to enforce upon yourselves. Firstly, don’t be afraid of testing boundaries or trying something new. There will be times when you may feel uncomfortable with what you are assigned to do, and that is perfectly fine. There is very little in this world that you will try for the first time and be completely relaxed with. The only way for you to learn anything new, or develop your current capabilities, is by pushing past your own boundaries. There is no other path to improvement. And secondly, something that will make or break your session; you should trust your chair. Trust them with your life throughout the whole session. They have been in your shoes, they know what it’s like, and they know how to make the best out of it. Do not underestimate their power.
Obviously, you all shouldn’t aim to be seen and noticed just for the sake of doing it. That makes you seem ostentatious and pretentious (which we know you aren’t!), and it will cast looks of clouds in your direction instead of sunshine. So, you should keep your hands in your pockets, in anticipation of your excellent and unforgettable entrance, and then continued performance. Remember, stick out visually, volunteer, speak your mind, work as a team, listen, have fun, push past boundaries and trust your chairs. There you go, the essence of the whole article pocketed down to one and a half line. Follow these guidelines, and I can personally bet my pockets that you will not be the slightest bit disappointed with the session.
Some moments in life you wish never happened, and you furiously want to repress them. Others you want to cherish forever, and never forget. These two ends of the polar come not often in life, and that is what makes them so valuable to us, to our mental development and psyche. It shows that we are infinitely vulnerable, and also totally flawless.
I was inspired to write tonight, because I experienced a moment, where I just wanted to freeze time, and bask in the immaculateness of it. It seems like what I write now and what you read, will not encompass my emotions that I have felt now. I spent the evening with a group of people, only one of whom I knew prior. The group had only first met not even 24 hours earlier, yet this evening was one of those nights of discussion I won’t forget. Sitting on the balcony, in 20 degree heat, listening to chill music, talking about life and philosophy and EYP and food and everything meaningful and random. Everything was so natural, so easy.
My words here do not suffice, I know this, and I apologise. Though I think that most people have experienced this once in their life, so I encourage you to bring back those memories. Relive them. Keep them fresh. They are worth remembering, and they have helped form the person you are today. #sorryforcliché
Most people nowadays wear trousers at some point in their life. These trousers will, more often than not, bear pockets for the purpose of storing things. However, some pockets serve the purpose not of storing items, but rather another pocket. Thus, the question arises; has modern-day fashion made our lives more practical, or are they simply making a nuisance of things? After yet another success in 2010 with Inception, Christopher Nolan has truly coined the concept of “something within itself”. It is now hipster-marked to add “-ception” to the end of any word, in an attempt to mess with someone’s mind.
Bringing the example of pockets, and thus pocketception, into the limelight, I pose the query; is pocketception a worthwhile concept, are these smaller inner-pockets we all have just above our primary pockets actually practical or are they in the way?
One could argue that these small, extra pockets are convenient when storing smaller, spare objects. A popular filler for the pockets in question are coins. Coins are small and usually seen as spare, because not many of us feel the necessity to make the effort and bring out our wallets and purses every time we receive a few measly coins in change, and place the inconveniently rounded coins into the squared wallet or purse. Thus, we leave the coins in our pockets, because that is more convenient and consequently, pocketception prospers.
However, the risks of carrying coins in ones pockets are large, especially when one owns an android or iPhone. Envision the scenario; you’re tweeting about your latest amazing EYP experience while walking to the bus stop, when the bus hurtles past in a flurry. Your only chance of catching this bus, which will take you to your next EYP experience, is to run. Fast. You instinctively tear for the bus, while placing your phone into your pocket. You being you (aka awesome) make it to the bus. Win. However, in the hasty act of placing your phone in your pocket, you put it in the same pocket as all of your coins, and now your screen is scratched beyond belief. Not win.
I’ll let you clever people be the judge on the whether the fashion industry should be held accountable for your reparation bills. All I aim to do is entice imagination, fuel inspiration, catalyse action, the rest is up to you.
So, anyone who has nay interest in my life will have been bombarded recently with news that I have spent some time in Istanbul with EYP. Well, on Wednesday I fly back to be a journo! As is mandatory for a journo, I will write articles! And I thought it’d be a nice idea for me to post my articles not only in the session newspaper, but also here. Sweet right!?
In danger of a trademark breaching, I state that any affiliation in this post with the sports giant NIKE is of pure coincidence and should not be used as reason for any kind of suing/legal charges pressed. Please.
Have you ever pondered over the number of times you decide “Yes” or “No” in a day? And what would the consequences be if you had answered the opposite? Every single day of your life you will make small decisions that will affect the outcome of your day, or the next few days. Then there are bigger decisions, that will have bearing on your coming weeks or even months. There are also choices you make, that will have no influence on anything at all, rendering them useless, but still something that you must take a stance on. Conversely, there are decisions that will affect many years of your life to come. These obviously do not come every day, and that is why it is ever so vital that the best decision is made.
Please pardon this lengthy preface, but it is essential to remember that everything we do is done because of a conscious choice, and everything has a knock-on effect.
We do not regret the decisions we make, only the ones we do not.
Bearing this slight cliché in mind, I would like to elaborate on a particular state of mind that cannot be overstated: just do it. If you get an opportunity to be part of something, to go somewhere, to meet someone, to be with someone, just damn well do it.
When you have lived your life and you sit in your rocking chair on the porch, flicking through the obituaries, you don’t want to be looking back at your time and thinking;
Yes, I’ve had a good life. I’ve played it safe, not been hurt a lot, not lost too much, not done too many whacked things. Yes, I’m content.
I may only be speaking for myself (well, I know I’m not, but for sake of argument), but I would much rather be thinking to myself;
Yes, I’ve had a good life. I’ve risked it all, lost it, and won it back again. I’ve been hurt a lot, but I have felt more love I thought possible. And I’ve done too many whacked things. Yes, I’m content.
If you don’t take the opportunities you are given in life, then someone else, with more drive and ambition will take it instead. Opportunities will forever exist, have always existed, in abundance. It is only the ambition and motivation of people that fluctuate. And looking at the average man now, there is exponentially more ambition and motivation in him, making it more and more challenging to be the one grasping the opportunity which lingers in front of your waking eyes.
It is by no means my intent now to encourage you to decide to take every single opportunity that comes your way. It is an opportunity in itself to pass on opportunities once and a while. Where my discourse on this occasion lies, is for you to value the weight of decisions you make, and know that taking an opportunity that you are offered with will more often than not benefit you more than you can imagine.
Make the right decisions, for they will all have an impact on where you are destined to be.
So, I’m in the story telling mood, because this is an epic story. Right, so my aunts parents live I little south of where I am now. My grandparents live north in Gothenburg. They where gonna go down to visit my aunts parents, and on the way they had to change trains in Malmö (where I am now). The train they get on is packed, like sardine package full. They get seats, coz they old, but their bag doesn’t fit by their seat, so an attendant moves their bag to the next carriage. The journey is 3 hours, so they sleep a while, but wake up just before they have to get off. They rush to the carriage with their bag, but it is nowhere to be found! They are faced with the ultimatum, leave the bag and continue their travels to Ystad, to deviate in search of the bag. To make the situation more complex, the bag contains all of granddads heart medication, needed after his recent heart attacks.
They decide to abandon the luggage, and call us in a state of panic. They learnt that that train will continue to Copenhagen and turn their. At this point it is 16:01. The train will pass back through Malmö at 16:26. We are in town, 10 minutes from the station: time was least said on our side. Me and mum sprint to where the car is parked, jump in and speed towards the station.
Once there, I throw myself out of the car and run to the travel desk to sort this out. Time: 16:14. 12 minutes remain to make someone realize the seriousness of the situation, contact the train, find the bag, and get it off the train. I enter travel information; no free desks. I wait, then one opens up. I push in front of the next guy, and shout at the guy behind the counter, “THIS IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, I NEED YOUR HELP!” his reply, “you need a number slip and wait your turn…”, “You don’t get it, my grandad will DIE, if you don’t help me now!” “(quiet pause) you still need a number slip….”, “NO I do not. Listen, (tell whole story of bag, mediation, blah blah)”. He sits there, emotionless, then mumbles something like “I’ll call someone”. The whole room is staring uncomfortably at me. I turn around, smile, “how you doing?”
It’s now 16:24 (yes it took that long to make him listen). At this point, mum is down by the track, waiting for the train. The guy I’m talking to comes back, says he’s called the train and there’s nothing more he can do, and dismisses me.
I, very pissed, go down to the track to find my mum with the bag! She’s apparently put one foot on the train and one on the platform and said to an attendant that “I’m not moving until you find that bag!” mum can be pretty intimidating when she needs to hahaha the poor young fella shits himself and rushes through the train to eventually find it. Grandparents and bag reunited, and mum and I feel like heroes. Good day.
Reach for the stars!
Go for gold!
Be the best!
These are all encouraging phrases that others can tell us when we are trying to achieve. It should spur you when someone encourages you, because they show that they believe in you. And it costs them literally nothing. All they have to do, essentially, is smile, say their line, and job done. Finito. Easy.
It’s a completely different matter when we have to encourage ourselves, because we have to say out catchy little phrase, and also believe in it. Otherwise, there is no point. Before we as individuals can achieve anything whatsoever, we must believe ourselves that we are capable. We can win. We can be the best. We can reach the stars. Once we hold this belief, then all is possible.
But believing is not what my topic tonight no no. Tonight, this post regards those that do believe already, and want to achieve more. Dun dun duuuuun!
Just as people can encourage you, they can also try to knock you down.
That’s way too hard!
You can’t do that!
You have waaaaay too much going on to handle this!
NO!
No, no, no. The only, one, single, individual being that can tell you this, is yourself. No one else know’s who you are or what you can do as well as you. Now this is all very preacher-like right now, and I know if you’re like me then this is not news to you, but please, bare with me, I have a new angle on this.
As said, no one knows what you can do as well as you. Fact. But just how well do you know yourself? Who introduced you? Where did you meet? Have your encounters been structured in any way? The truth is that you only know yourself as well as you’re society has allowed you to.
All societies and peoples have in some fashion been stereotypicalised. Yeah, it’s a word. That is to say that there exist expectations on all peoples, on how they should act. These expectations, which are commonly mistaken for norms, restrict and hinder people from doing something that might be considered strange, or just downright weird. This creates a state of mind for everyone in a society that they should abide by the same norms. Thus, there is no radicality going on, and we can all on living as we expect, and are expected to. This. Is. Madness.
I saw an interview with a Turkish female author from Istanbul. She has made great international success with her writing, and was recently interviewed by an American male journalist. He begins by asking where the inspiration for the book came from, and if she was planning on any new novels and so on. He then asks her:
Why don’t you write more about oppressed women, and their struggle against society?
She was startled by this question, and simply replied:
Why do you ask that? Should I?
The journalist goes on to make the point that perhaps she would be able to relate more to some characters in such a novel, taking into account the heritage of her people, Turkish women.
And now, beautiful readers, comes the essence of what I want to proclaim.
She answered this with the point that that is just why she does not write about that. Because it is expected of her. Just as is it expected of American male authors to write fast-paced crime thrillers. That is not to say that that isn’t successful, not at all. She was making the point that if you do what is expected of you, you will be given a pat on the back. But if you do more than that, if you exceed expectations, or even do something completely different, and you do it well, you will be praised. That is what makes you successful. That is how you imprint you name into peoples minds.
Go beyond. That is my point tonight. Go beyond what is expected. Go beyond yourself. Find what is expected of you, do it, then some more. Do not let yourself be restricted by listening to what is normal, and stopping there. You will always do well if you do what is expected, but you will make an impression if you go further. Because it is unexpected, something new, something worth remembering.
Screw normality. It’s overrated.
