I’m not really one for taking chances, (unless it’s a yellow light because in that case I will always try to beat it) but I think I will for this entry. Now, I’m sure you already know, but my style of writing is pretty out of whack, and the reason for that is because I talk about weird stuff. When I first thought about this, I thought I was going to talk about a person who is a role model to me, but, for the sake of maintaining my peculiar style, I refuse to talk about a person. I might end up looking like a fool, but it’s worth it because my role model simply isn’t a person. That’s no to say there aren’t people who I look up to because I definitely do (for example my sister, my mom and my dad, and of course all people above six feet tall) but my actual role model would have to be a fox. More specifically he would have to be “fantastic” and a “mister.” All right, I’ll just say it—the dude I truly aspire to be like is none other than the character Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Now, just to clear this up, I loved this story so much that I actually remember the very first time I read it. I was in third grade and I had a one-page book report due the next day, and, of course, I had yet to begin my book. I chose the skinniest book I could find in our old library at school and sat down to read, and, I swear to God this is true, I read the whole book cover-to-cover without getting up! Granted it was like 100 pages and any of us could probably match this feat given 15 minutes and some quiet, but, for an eight-year-old, that’s a pretty big deal. Basically, the reason I remember this event so much is because it marked the beginning of my long career as a professional procrastinator, which isn’t really a good thing but, let’s face it, it’s worked like a charm since way back then.
Anyway, Mr. Fox from Roald Dahl’s awesome children’s book Fantastic Mr. Fox is basically a combination of Samuel L. Jackson’s cool demeanor with Snoop Dogg’s (probably drug-induced) swagger topped off by some of Chewbacca’s overall coolness just to even out the body hair. Not only does he have the voice of George Clooney (who I have a very justifiable man-crush on) in the new movie, Mr. Fox simply is fantastic. The thing with Foxy is that he is an instinctive leader that is naturally flawed by his need to be liked by everyone. In the story his mistakes are what thrust him into a leadership role and that is something that we deal with so often. I guess the way to put it is he is a situational leader and in some ways everyone is. Would Martin Luther King Jr. become a national hero today? Would Mahatma Gandhi be able to be the father of a country if it weren’t for British colonialism? Would Mr. Fox really be so fantastic if it weren’t for Boggis, Bunce and Bean? I would have to say no because, in the end, it’s these situations that bring out the best in all people and mostly out of leaders.
The point of this is I think sometimes I and other people just try to be something we’re not. I’m not a perfect kid that always does my homework on time, but I do have the ability to be, lets see if I can put it delicately, LOUD AS A SIREN so people tend to think I know what I’m doing. I know this going to ruin my cover, but I’m going to say it anyway: I’m just not as smart or talented as people think—I just appear that way. Nine times out of ten when you ask me a question I’ll probably be thinking, “what in the world are they talking about?” but what’ll come out is something like’ “yeah all you have to do is take a right down Rollins and then another right by the big intersection.”
I know this sounds stupid, but to be completely honest, I don’t want to be a role model to other people. I screw up all the time, but, in the end, I like to think I end up on top because of what I learned, but the end is the only think people see. Some people don’t express themselves because they’re afraid of messing up, but if I’ve learned anything in my lifetime it’s to be able to mess up and then learn from it. That old cliché about learning most from your mistakes isn’t bullshit because it’s basically the story of my life and if there was one thing I would pass on to other people it would be that. It’s not the best thing because, well, it involves making a mistake, but that’s what I learned from dear Foxy and that’s what I want other leaders to learn too.
