struck_out | 001 Video / Action

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[The feed switches on to Leon propping his elbows on the counter, idly bouncing a baseball in his hand. He may be dressed for work at the Pokemart, but he...doesn't really look like he's working.

Thankfully for him, his boss is away on an errand so there's no one to yell at him to pick up his slack. It's a quiet day at the Pokemart anyway, so he can afford some time to goof off. Usually this would involve naps, but today he's got a question to pose for the network viewers. ]

So, I've been thinking lately. About dreams. I know what I gotta do to stay here, but...I don't have a dream. Something that keeps me pumped up and excited, you know? Is the Pokemon trainer thing the only dream we can have here? 'Cause I dunno, it still feels kinda off somehow. I can do it if it means I get to stay here, but it's not really my thing.

[A sign punctuates his words.]

It really sucks when you realise that a dream you wanted, might not be such a good dream after all. And I've been thinking for the past two days, and I still can't figure out what it is that I want! It's so annoying!!

[Leon stops bouncing the ball and picks up the Gear, grinning at the audience.]

So, that's where you guys come in! Tell me about your dreams. Something that you wanted to do, either here or back home. Doesn't matter how crazy it is, but just tell me about it because hell, maybe it's a dream worth working towards. Maybe you guys can give me an idea on what kinda dream I can chase after now. There's just one condition: your dream has to be cool. There's no point in having a dream that doesn't fit your standards, right? So my standard is simple: it just has to be a freaking awesome dream!! So gimme your best ones!

Action: Violet City

[Lo and behold, an amazing sight for all to see. The SHSL Slacker is actually working? If by working, you mean he's sloppily arranging stuff on the shelves, or napping over the counters, or even splashing water on the front and calling that a clean job. Did he accidentally splash water over you when he did that? Or did a whole bunch of cartons fall on you because he didn't stack them up properly? Or maybe you're impatiently waiting for this teen punk to get with his job and check out your items. The choices are yours!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

There's just one problem with soliciting that kind of advice: it makes you much more likely to end up chasing someone else's dream, and not one that's truly your own.

[Too lazy to text back, Leon just switches over to the voice function.]

But what if that guy's dream rocks? Why shouldn't I follow his? I can just make it my own dream too.

And you think that'll make you happy?

It's fine to draw inspiration from others. But if you don't find a way of adding something of yourself to it, then all you're really doing is playing tag-along behind someone else. And in circumstances like that, you'll always lose, because their advantage is that they want it more than you do.

I dunno, maybe it could?

I've always known what I wanted to do. So this is the first time I'm stuck.

[Leon has an intense one track mind, he's got tunnel vision all the way. So long as he had a goal, be it throwing a ball or becoming a rock star, he knew he'd achieve it, so he never considered anything else.]

All my life I did just one thing. And now that I don't want to do it anymore, I don't know else is there left for me.

What one thing?

Baseball. But that's not what I wanted to do. It's the last thing I ever want to do, now that I'm here! Just because I'm good at it doesn't mean I actually like playing baseball. In fact, I actually hate it! All that running around, getting sweaty and dirty on the field...just for what? It was just a waste of my time!

So when I was in high school I wanted to get away from baseball and do something I liked. And that was Punk rock! To be a rocker and sing in front of the stage in front of all my fans...that was my dream. Isn't it a cool goal?

But...even though I liked the idea of being popular and the music...I don't think I want to be a musician anymore. I didn't really know that people go crazy in the industry; I thought that was all just stuff the paparazzi made up to sell their stories. But it seems like a really tough career. I'd rather have a dream where I didn't have to work so hard!

You mean you want a dream that isn't so demanding or cutthroat or ruthless.

Yeah, that's right! Something that's easy, cool and I enjoy doing. And it has to be something that's popular with girls too! That was the only good thing about baseball; for some reason, girls really like guys who play that sport. I can't figure that one out.

But I've spent so much of my life focusing on baseball and punk rock that right now...I'm not sure what else is there for me.

Are you really comfortable with the thought of your dreams being easy?

Why shouldn't I be? If it's easy then I won't have to work hard to be good at it. Life would be pretty fantastic if I had a dream like that!

You've got your cause and effect all wrong. Being good at something should make it easier, but that's no excuse not to work hard. Where's the joy in success if you didn't have to try for it?

Umm, nope, I'm pretty sure I got it right. Like, why would I want to work hard if I can get successful without any effort? Life's too short for that shit!

Because the effort is what makes you enjoy it. There's no investment in the outcome if you didn't have to strive for it, and success isn't an end condition; it's a milestone. Have it handed to you too easily and it won't be long before you find yourself asking, "Well, now what?"

The journey is often just as important as the destination.

Who says I enjoy the effort? Trust me, I know what effort is, and I'd rather enjoy my time then drag my ass out onto the field again. Now that takes a fucking ton of effort, doing something you hate every day.

If you're doing something you love, then the effort doesn't feel like work. But there's a difference between not minding work and avoiding doing any in the first place.

...you sound just like my coach. Always goin' on and on about how if only I'm passionate about the game then I'd be able to get my lazy ass moving.

Too bad for him I hated it. Even if I did like baseball, it still wouldn't be enough to get me out of bed at those godawful hours in the morning.

It pretty much sucks. You don't know if you like somethin' until you try, but gettin' good at it takes time and it's pretty freakin' hard. It just takes too much effort.

Edited 2013-09-19 12:39 (UTC)

The point is, if you're doing something you love — which evidently isn't baseball, considering what you've said about it just now — then the pleasure you're deriving isn't solely from being good at it; it's from simply doing it in the first place. People who love what they do tend to become better at it because when they love it, they want to do it more often, which has the side benefit of giving them extra practice.

But from the perspective you're taking, it sounds like it's not really the dream in and of itself that you're after — it's the recognition and admiration of other people acknowledging how good you are at something. And if that's the case, then chasing someone else's dream is just going to leave you miserable in the long run.

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