Mediocrity

We are always told by parents, teachers, guidance counselors, and family that “you are special”, especially when we are feeling down.  What makes me special is the numerous areas that I am ‘good’ at.

I’m at least above average in art, I can sing well, I can play the piano (but I’m certainly nothing special), and I’m smart, but I stink at sports.  Now when comparing myself to others, (which you may say is bad to do, but stop lying; we all do it) I often find that while they may be better than me in one subject, I can usually “beat” them in another subject, or multiple subjects.

For example, Sample A is somewhat smarter than me, and can play the violin much better than I can play the piano, but I can sing better than him or her, and am also better at art.  It is this balance of attributes that makes us all unique, and to some extent, equal.  Now I will be the first to dispel the delusion that we are all equal: we are not made equal, as shown by a comparison between Albert Einstein and little Johnny Smith down the block.  But though Einstein may be much, much smarter than Johnny, Johnny doesn’t have to be, for example, a Michael Jordan of sports, to stand toe-to-toe in “goodness” with Einstein.  However the assemblage of traits that we all have, and which are different than everyone else’s, does give us a uniqueness that makes someone special.

Now, to the title of my entry.  Out of all of the traits for myself listed above, the one I am “best at” per se, is being smart.  I am a little better than mediocre at art, and am still pretty good at singing, I’d say, but ‘mediocrity’ is certainly a good word to describe my piano skills (and is an overstatement for my athletic prowess), as well as describing a lot of other traits I possess, like my knowledge on Greek Mythology, my ability to code, general knowledge of fashion, etc.  These mediocrities is what makes me who I am–I, and most probably everyone else, can rattle off a list of these things that they are mediocre.  And because there are so many of these things, I think our mediocrities is what truly defines us.  In this way, we are all a sort of Jack-of-all-trades, and it is what makes us special, different, and maybe even “better” than the next person.

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