Monday, April 11, 2011

A World of Dreams

Kids are prompted to follow their dreams. Yet, sometimes, when they do they are ridiculed. One case in point is the Rebecca Black phenomenon. Her mother bought her a music video. She made it and posted it on You Tube. The rest, as they say, is history. Being hailed as the worst video in history, Ms. Black has had to endure countless taunts. NPR has covered the follow up to her fame here. I think they cover it well. She is just a 13 year old girl. Fortunately she is a mature 13 year old. She is holding her head high and not succumbing to the jeers.
  I can't imagine if I would have been able to handle it as well at that age. I have to say, honestly, I've seen worst videos. We had a record, back in the 60's which was absolutely horrible. It was by a girl named Brenda Holly. It seems that this young girl's parents paid for her to make a record.It was made locally and distributed far and wide. Someone put one of her songs on You Tube. She must have made several songs because the one I heard was much worse. I can't imagine what would have become of her had You Tube been around in the 60's.
   I started writing stories when I was very young. Thank goodness no one posted them on the internet. If the internet had existed back then, I'm sure my older brother would have posted my stories. Suffice it to say, they weren't very good. They were corny and tripe and, well, the product of a youthful imagination. Young people have dreams. Sometimes they grow and change their minds. Meanwhile, they leave a trail of leftover drawings, essays, songs, etc. That's how life works. We dream, we love, we evolve. When we really love something, we will learn about it. We will sharpen our skills through trial and error. Anyone who feels the urge to attack someone who is just trying to follow a chosen path, should take a hard look at themselves. If you don't like something, then don't read, listen or look at it. If it isn't good, then it will go away on its own. I'm not talking about sought out constructive criticism. I'm talking about personal attacks and taunts. Usually, those who feel it necessary to do such a thing have their own issues. They may have their own insecurity problems or worse, superiority complexes. I've seen writers who have made the mistake to strike back at critics. This is a huge mistake. They are alienating their readership as a whole. Not only that, their work has a target market. It isn't supposed to appeal to everyone, assuming that was even possible. So, readers, if you enjoy a work, say so, if not, let it go. Writers, if you do not like a criticism, let it go. Its part of the process when you expose yourself to the world.
   So, here's to dreams in all their wonderful forms!