Why is mediocre such a derogatory word? Yes, the definition is: of moderate or low quality, value, ability, or performance : ordinary, so-so but since when did it become a crime to not be number one?!
Don’t get me wrong, I usually strive for my best in all things (with many variables of course i.e. time allotted, interest, understanding, etc). But...there is no shame if you are mediocre at something. I was having a conversation with a friend (hey dave) and we talking about poetry. We both used the word mediocre to describe some of our poems. Why is that a bad thing? There are people that would love to write an “ordinary” poem. Some people are lucky to strain two or three coherent thoughts together little lone write them down and form them into some sort of poetry.
I would love to be a mediocre ballroom dancer (hey – I know my limits). Freestyle dancing is more my thing and I have to say that I am better than average at that. I can sing (though I haven’t in a long time) and music makes me very happy. There is no shame in the fact that maybe I’m not the best singer or dancer.
I just hate when words seem to get turned around into “dirty words”. Oh, that soufflé was mediocre at best. Let’s see you make a soufflé from scratch and see how darn good it tastes.
We all can’t be number one at everything. That is not to say that we should not do our best our teach children to reach for the stars. But – let’s remember that venturing out and trying new things is what adds adventure to our otherwise dull little lives. We may or may not be really good at certain things but at least we will have tried. Viva mediocrity!
About Me
- Bobbie G.
- I grew up in a small town oustide of Palm Springs California but have lived in the big city for 20 plus years now. Never dreamed in a million of those years that I would end up in Texas. And yes, I have started saying ya'll. I am looking for a creative outlet to spice up my day to day life. Remains to be seen if blogging is it but I have a good feeling!
1 comment:
Well, mediocre means "medium"... or average. Which actually everyone is. It's funny, but if you ask a group of your friends who thinks they are above average intelligence (god forbid you ask them about their KIDS)... they will all say "yes".
But how can that be?
I don't think anyone strives to be "medium". (Except in weight loss/clothes scenarios or crap NBC dramas.) We all want to think we are great singers, public speakers, etc.
Who doesn't want to be special?
Of course, if everyone's special, then no one is. Special becomes run of the mill.
(I was going to call my website "mediocre genius", but someone registered the domain name first! "Brain Forest" too, which really irked me. Hate that!)
I would say that, with those poems for example, I'm not going to share the ones that are average. I'm gonna pick the best. Those are the ones I'm proud of. They represent what I was trying to do.
People often say they love a certain band or restaurant. But what they really love is one song or one menu item. The rest is average... the "middle" that MAKES that top 10% the "best".
Way to steal a future blog topic out from under me! Ah... mine wouldn't have been that great actually... it would have ended up being, well...
Post a Comment