So, I had this one English teacher in my sophomore year in high school who gave the class advice that, in many respects, rather changed my life. I should first mention that I was a horrible, horrible student in grade school. Had to go to summer school after 8th grade (my parents were really thrilled about that one), and I barely passed each year by the proverbial skin of my teeth, even not being sure I was graduating until graduation day (I swear!). I was bright enough to have done better, but was going through some personal issues, and my focus, not to mention my maturity on many levels, was not where it should have been. I made a point of dumbing my image down, because I was afraid of standing out, of being "different". Being French already did not help matters, so I tried my best to blend in. It seems I did a good job, too, because I felt mostly invisible throughout the supposed glory days of high school. there were a few people who managed to see through that facade, including a couple of teachers. This English teacher was one of them...sort of. He gave me a backhanded compliment one time, saying that there were times when I came in, and he thought I was the most brilliant student that he had met, and then there were times when I did or said something, and he felt I was just about the dumbest kid he ever met. Not exactly a ringing endorsement yet, is it?
Well, he was a poetic kind of a guy. One time, he gave his definition of eternity, and it was so beautiful, that it stuck with me. What he pictured is a mountain, and he told us to imagine a bird picking up a single grain of sand from that mountain once every 5,000 miles, and to place it at a new location. Every 5,000 years, another bird would pick up a grain of sand, and drop it at the new location. Once that old mountain is no longer standing, and a new one has risen in it's place, he said that was his definition of eternity. I liked that.
There was one other thing that he said, and this one, in some respects, changed my life. It must have been after some kid (hopefully not me) yawned, or claimed to be bored, or some such insipid sentiment. He told the class that you should never get bored, because that means you are boring. He cited the example of hanging out with a friend, and thinking that if, at some point, you are hanging out with that friend, and you say, "This is boring.", then that means that friend is boring, right? Well, he then went on to say that you keep your own company, and it applies just the same with yourself, as well. If you find yourself getting bored all of the time, that means you are boring. The one person that you always keep company with is yourself, and if you could not even keep yourself interested, how could you ever expect anyone else to not find you boring? He suggested that it was a mindset, and that you should never allow yourself to be bored, essentially. I think I was the only one that was really affected by it, because most of the other kids looked....well, bored. Just another day in the classroom, right? But what he said gave me pause for thought, and I actually did change the way I viewed myself and my "own company", if you will. It helped me to foster my own mind, to try and be creative during those "slow moments", if you will, and probably even helped me become who I am today, in some measure.
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