Famous Last Words

Tomorrow/tonight (the drawback of the night shift is that evening to you is the middle of the night to respectable society...) Anyway...

She told me I came and sprinkled fairy dust on her... And Tom told me my laugh was contagious. I am sorry to leave them. I do so like them all.

The first night we really worked together I made her listen to a random song I'd fallen in love with on monkey speakers (Ruchi again!) plugged into my iPhone. "Snails" by The Format, a total indie rock band. Apparently she was wigged out by the old lady who played 'country music' for her on stuffed-monkey speakers on their Sunday night shift.

That damned song was stuck in my head for days. Days I say!

But as the months passed, and we were isolated from our lives on the night shift together, we got to know each other very well... And I'm blessed to have her in my life. Taryn. And Avinash. My snarky comerade in late-night banter. They kept me sane as the sun set, reflected against Manhattan office towers, as I sat and wondered what more...

And I could say so much, but what I want to do most is leave a little shard of... both wisdom and advice seem arrogant... but perhaps I leave ideas to ponder as you pursue your careers, life, love, happiness and fulfillment.

1) Always do your best. No matter what your task, even as a lame duck, do the best you can do despite unfairness, others not pulling their own weight or feeling inadequate. Show that you are putting 100% in, and you can't fail. You will always know that you gave it your all, and that is invaluable.

2) Life is not fair, but never tolerate abuse. Sometimes you will find yourself being taken advantage of, or you will realize that someone has drawn a longer stick than you in the lottery of... Yes. That sucks. It's shit. But life is not fair. Priviledge and inheritence and just straight up luck exist. But never let anyone cross the line and manipulate you. Tolerate unfair until you can either rectify it or move on, but don't tolerate anyone taking advantage of you. That you control.

3) You control your own life. We have our parents, friends, bosses, lovers. But the only person whose head you will ever have to occupy or whose life you will really experience is your own. Fight like hell to make it what you want to experience. If what you do is not fulfilling, change it. If how you are isn't making you happy, change it. The universe is essentially flexible. Shit happens that we must endure, but how you handle that is always your own choice.

4) Respect your own ideas. Throw them out there. Some will be shit. Some will be stellar. But who knows if they only live in your head? Don't be afraid to be shot down.

5) Fucking laugh all the time. Things might suck, but embrace any moment of joy you can. It makes things way more fun.

I will miss you guys. Spending our nights shooting the shit and dreaming bigger. But I promise to push you to make "bigger" your reality. You will, of course. Change is inevitable. But I wish for you purposeful change when it can be achieved. Sometimes it cannot. Sometimes it is thrust upon us.

But when we get to have -- and exercise -- our ability to choose...

We can walk into the unknown without fear.

Trust yourselves. Always. You do know. You do.

Comments

Avi said…
AWWWW!!! JEN! DON'T LEAVE ME!!!!! GOD NOOOOO. You are surely loved and I will miss your banter terribly. Your words are so kind and make a lot of sense, let's see if I am mature enough to follow through!

Sigh, I'll miss you so. LOVE YOU MUCH AMOR!

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