May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.
...I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.
And for this year, my wish for each of us is small and very simple.
And it's this.
I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.
Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.
So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.
Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.
Make your mistakes, next year and forever.
Please REACT to this quote at length, in your BLOG post this month!
First of all (just in case any one of you want to know for reference), when I clicked on the link in the quote, I found out that the first New Year’s wish listed was from about a decade from the time this whole blog entry was posted (2011). That being said, here are my reflections on Neil Gaiman’s advice for the New Year, in chronological order:
ReplyDeleteEntry #1 (2001):
You know, I like this wish because it shows that we don’t have to sit around all day acting like sophisticated young business. In other words, craziness—or as Mr. Gaiman would say, “good madness”—is perfectly normal! Also, I think we really do need to read more books today, because in this age of technology, with all of us sucked in to technology, we have so many other ways to be entertained than boring old books…right? Well, of COURSE not! I mean, I myself will admit that even I don’t read books nowadays, but now, I think we should more than ever because some of the best stories in the world have been peened on paper. Besides, screens are going to hurt our eyes anyways. And finally, I really DO believe that we should make some sort of art, because the way I think of it, art is like a gift from God that allows us to express ourselves in a more aesthetic manner. So whether you write or sing a love song or poem for someone special, paint a beautiful landscape to capture the beauty of the outdoor world, make a humongous sculpture out of Legos, or just living life and capturing every breath of air, it’s still art. And even though being grateful for every breath of fresh air you take doesn’t seem like art, it is a form of art: the art of living.
Entry #2 (2006):
Like I mentioned before, the first part of the second wish shows with even more clarity that weirdness is completely OK. In fact, it reminds me of a cute—yet inspiring—quote by Robert Fulghum (no, not Dr. Seuss), which I guess some of you may have encountered before: “We’re all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness—and call it love—true love.” Sounds somewhat familiar, right? This leads into the part of the wish where Mr. Gaiman talks about love, and I believe he’s right that we should all love and like and be loved and liked in life. I mean, we were made to be companions; otherwise, why would we hate being lonely? And finally, we really DO need kindness and wisdom these days, because kindness opens the door to love, and wisdom opens the door to the light of fulfillment.
Entry #3 (2011):
Finally, I know they say you should try not to make too many mistakes in life, but Neil Gaiman’s take on mistakes is just phenomenal. I don’t know why, but it reminds me of one of those quotes near the door of Mrs. Lazaruk’s room (if you learned math from her last year) by Orlando Aloysius Battista: “An error doesn't become a mistake until you refuse to correct it.” And though it may not relate to what Mr. Gaiman said about mistakes, mistakes do help push us to our limits. And though we may be scared of doing things because they might lead us into making mistakes, it’s perfectly fine to do something you’re scared of, and maybe even make mistakes while you’re at it. Because as Bruce Lee once famously stated, “Courage is not the absence of fear; it is the ability to act in the presence of fear.” Therefore, I fully agree with Neil Gaiman in that we SHOULD do what we’re petrified of doing, whether it be confessing your feelings for someone (I’ll admit I’ve struggled with that), or standing up against a bully, because in the end, mistakes help to build us up into much stronger people than who we were before. In other words, our faults will ultimately become our strengths, which is why we need to make mistakes—so that we can become even wiser at the end of the day as we learn from them.
This year, I'm hoping that I can incorporate this quote into my own life. I can learn so much and I have so much room to improve when coming to living my life. I am the type of person that tries to make something perfect or at least make something to the best of my ability. So learning about dealing with mistakes will help me out a lot.
ReplyDeleteGaiman first says to dream outrageously and dangerously. I find this quite interesting as I never thought of dreaming in a such a way. Usually, you would be taught to dream conservatively so that you have goals that you can reach. But now that I think about it, dreaming with goals so vivid would make your life more colorful. You are able to explore more section of your world and even illuminate the darkest parts of your life. I want to dream big as to my future goals. I want to think about my future careers and not just think about the easiest careers or the careers that pay you the most money. Instead, I want to pursue a career that I will enjoy. I'm going to dream outrageously even if it might not be realistic.
Neil Gaiman also promotes making mistakes. He says that this will help you live, and learn, and most importantly, you're doing something. This reminds me of MLK Jr.'s quote, "If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” Both Gaiman and MLK say that you should always keep yourself occupied instead of wasting time over the past. I'm definitely going to use this in my own life as learning to move forward will stop me from worrying over the past. Sulking over a bad grade won't get you anywhere but using that motivation and drive, you can instead work to improve your upcoming grade. I find this extremely important as time is constantly moving forward. Time moving forward should be motivation enough for you to keep your life moving forward. No matter how many mistakes you make, the best thing you can do is learn from them and move forward with life, working upon the mistakes that you have already made.
Also, making mistakes is one of the best parts of life. Having a life without mistakes would also mean a life without fun and a life without improvement. I want to build upon mistakes and then construct new ideas from there. Its the beautiful part of life as we have the choice to make mistakes and most importantly, the choice to fix them. No one will remember you mistakes. Instead, they will remember how you overcame them and how you built your successes on top of the mistakes. This what I want to do. If I mess up on a quiz, I want to practice harder and harder till I ace the next quiz. This is how I want to live my life.
This is kind of like an extremely late New Year's resolution, but I want to live my life following the words of Gaiman.
Snehil Agrawal:
ReplyDeleteWhen I first glanced at this quote, I was mind boggled. I wondered “Why is such a respectable author asking me to fail in life? Shouldn’t I be trying to get better at what I do, not fail? Everyone tells me to succeed in life, not crash and burn! This makes no sense!” But now as I think about it, we have to fail in life all the time if we wish to succeed later on. There are two things that mistakes can do to help you: Give you the knowledge to help achieve your goals and stimulate you to do something about what you want, not just stay inactive.
Most of us wish to become better at something in life, whether it’s cooking or writing or whatever. But if we want to succeed, we have to first try. When we do something for the first time, we usually never succeed and fail instead. Naturally, you make mistakes, and you get nowhere near victory. Here, some people start believing that they can’t do it since they messed up the first time, but as Stephen Kaggwa once said,”Try and fail, but don’t fail to try.” If you are truly determined, you have to keep on trying, even if you makes a thousand mistakes. Because for every mistake you make, you learn a little bit more from that mistake and get a little bit better. Learning from your mistakes can make you a stronger and better person, although you may not think that. And after making a thousand mistakes, you know a thousand things not to do, and you get a thousand more knowledge. That knowledge can help you succeed whatever you want to do in life. The more mistakes you make, the more you know. The only mistake that can harm you are the ones you repeat, so as Mr.Gaiman said, “Make mistakes nobody's ever made before.” You might learn something new, something that no one’s ever found out before.
Also, when you make a mistake, you at least do something to get what you want to get done, just not all the way. Instead of cowering from the fear of failure, you stood up and gave it your all, and even if you failed, it’s better than not trying. After all, “Mistakes are proof that you are trying.” Mistakes are little reminders of your toil and effort, and what you have done to get to where you are, and to where you have to go. Not trying is a sign that you aren't actually striving to succeed and instead just waiting around for something to happen by chance. As I said above, when we first try, we usually fail. But when you try and make mistakes, again and again, you work more and give it your all more and more, helping you get closer and closer to victory. You try more, and attempt to succeed more, and put more effort.
And so to mistakes I say, JUST DO IT!
First off, I would like to wish a everyone a Happy New Year. I hope that your upcoming year is spent in a fun and wonderful way. I liked this quote very much, because it shows a lot about the progress of the different wishes exchanged for new years throughout the past few years.
ReplyDeleteThe quote about making mistakes took me by surprise at first. I was just thinking that why would someone want people to make mistakes. However, as I read on, I realized the actual meaning of this quote. I liked this quote because it is very inspirational. Nowadays, people often cringe away from trying out something new because they are afraid of making mistakes and failing. This quote suggests otherwise, insisting that in order to do something, you have to make mistakes first.
Trying new things is the key to succeeding in life, and this cannot be possible if you are afraid of making mistakes. Before trying something, people often think that it is really easy. However, when they actually try the thing, it often surprises them, and they fail to do what they wanted. For example, you may think that you are really good at a particular sport, but when you actually go to the tryouts for that team, you may be surprised of how well your opponents play and level of competition there. It is likely that you will fail to make it onto the team because of your lack of practice, but if you don’t give up, you are sure to try harder the next time and make it into the team.
I have been in this kind of a situation myself and have learned this lesson too. Now I am happy that I have made some of the mistakes that I have and realize how much they actually helped me in general. This quote has struck me quite personally and I will always come to remember these words in times of need.
I was really surprised at this quote, because it isn't like the standard inspirational quote that tells you to try your hardest and think. This quote however tells you not to be afraid of mistakes, but to embrace them. Neil Gaiman is a really famous author and this quote shows his deep and extraordinary thinking. He reasons that mistake are necessary to learn and to improve, which is the truth. If you fail once, you know how to do it the next time.
ReplyDeleteFirst, one of the things that Neil Gaiman says is to dream and think about crazy stuff that will help inspire you and spark you imagination. He also talks a lot about art which to me is great, because i love drawing and painting and all that stuff. But his last line of the first paragraph asks you to surprise yourself which means that you should use one of you crazy dreams to do something and maybe something cool will happen.
Most of us wish that we should be the luckiest person on earth, that gets everything they want and has it the easiest. But this quote proves that this is simply not true. You must make mistakes in order to get somewhere, and put extra effort to go the extra mile. Mistakes show you how much you have improved and it makes you feel like you have finally accomplished something that you have been trying to do for a really lo time.
At least you should be trying to do something instead of killing time, Neil Gaiman said in the quote. Making a mistake just tells you what to do. It is like mistakes are the boss of life. In the last part of his quote Neil Gaiman tells us to forget about being scared and do what you have to do. He tells us to keep on making mistakes and create new things.
I really wish that I could manage to implement this quote into my life and see the difference his words will make, and how it will really help me. It just keeps on telling you, never give up. Many people have tried to say the same thing as Neil Gaiman, but I don't think anyone has ever said this in a more clear, smart, or awesome way.
Happy New Year, guys!! :D
ReplyDeleteTo begin, I would just like to mention that it is awesome to see this month’s post centered around excellent quotes from none other than Neil Gaiman, a fantastic and successful author. I stumbled across Coraline as a young child; it was an exceptional book, but definitely left an impression on my tiny scared child-mind. The movie adaptation certainly didn’t help my fears either, but I’m starting to go off on a tangent here (once again). To get back to the quotes, all of them are wonderful. I’ll address each one of them, because they are all equally fantastic and deserve to be talked about individually (though the third one stands out to me more, but we’ll discuss that more later when I go into detail about it). Let’s begin with the first quote Gaiman brings up. Overall, the quote sends a lighthearted message of genuine wishes for the reader’s well-being. It isn’t often that people express that they truly want the best for you, and want you to succeed and use your talents to their maximum potential. You encounter more hate and messages to focus on others rather than yourself, so it is nice to be reminded to focus on yourself, too. A little optimism in a sea of darkness can go a long way. The second quote sets a similar tone. Often, we are intended to keep our personal dreams, aspirations, and genuine kindness as a second priority to our school work, jobs, and all of our other modern duties. The world is beginning to become composed of cold, stiff people, rules, and actions, without people just genuinely doing things and caring out of love. So, it is a nice change to see someone want you to explore what no one has explored before, and pursue the life that you want to pursue. Gaiman is also right in the fact that people need to be wise often, and kind always. Wouldn’t the world be better if everyone took his advice? There would certainly be a lot less cruelty and negativity. Now, finally getting to the third and final quote (which just so happens to be the shortest of them all, yet the most powerful in my opinion). Gaiman is simply asking us to stop being so terrified of making mistakes, because mistakes are wonderful. We, as students and sons and daughters, are, sadly, often pressured to be flawless, or at least make as little mistakes as possible. Mistakes are considered horrid, unsightly things that makes us look weak and flawed. Even I am guilty of feeling this way—it is just in our nature, it is the way we’ve been programmed to feel. However, without mistakes, there is success. Without mistakes, there is nothing. No one does something flawlessly. There are always flaws hidden within a situation or act, even if they are not visible and are simply within the mind. You could be considered a perfect pianist and be slightly late on pressing key without anyone noticing, or have a shaky shred of doubt hidden in the crevasses of your brain. Those are still mistakes—flaws. Life becomes so magnificent when you come to the realization that human beings are horrifically flawed and constantly make mistakes. You WILL make mistakes, but as Gaiman says, it is because you are DOING SOMETHING. It is important for people, children especially, to realize that mistakes show effort, mistakes show determination and an aspiring mind, mistakes show that you are exploring the world and all in between, that you are making the most of your life. A person who doesn’t make mistakes isn’t a person. Someone like that doesn’t go out and do anything, see anything, or become anything. Someone like that is too afraid of failing, even though failing reveals the yellow-brick-road to success. So, basically what I was trying to say this whole time is it is great that Gaiman is enlightening scared souls about this.
Remember, nobody’s perfect.
And that’s fantastic.
Neil Gaiman, one of the most well-known and respected authors, has a talented way of reaching out to many people. The three quotes mentioned above each have a deep and unique meaning to them. Although all of them are important in their own way, the third quote appeals to me the most. Nevertheless, I'll describe all three.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I think that the first quote means to be different and unique instead of being the same ordinary person you are everyday. I have to admit, last year I didn't go out of the way to be interesting and spontaneous. Instead, my life was the most boring it could ever be, with the same schedule every day- school, homework, eat, sleep, repeat. I wasn't lively at all, partly because I didn't have time to do such recreational activities, as I was so preoccupied with my other work. After reading this, however, I understood that there is no meaning in life if I don't go out of the way and do something creative just for the fun of it. Instead of doing the same old things, I should add a little random happiness in life, do activities such has read new books, make some art, and so on.
The second quote refers to the idea that a person should dream crazily without any limits whatsoever. The first time I read the quote, it felt a bit strange, because I've always been told the opposite, to have realistic goals so that you can live up to them. However, this explains that the bigger the achievements you dream about, the more you will strive towards your goals. It would also mean you would cover ground much faster. In addition, if you dream big and vividly, you'll have a bigger imagination, along with more "color" in your life.
In the third quote, Gaiman informs us that no matter how wrong you may be at times, what matters is the thought that you're DOING something- that you're TRYING. You should always strive to make mistakes, as they're the key to knowledge. One can never learn something new if they don't try it first, and one can never do something right if they don't do it wrong. It is absolutely necessary to make mistakes, because that its the way you'll learn. In addition, mistakes can also help you gain a vast variety of knowledge, as you can experiment and then build upon that. It doesn't matter how wrong you are or how distant you may be from the solution, but what matters is the reassurance you get to know that you're trying and progressing. If you can learn from your mistakes. you're getting somewhere. Mistakes also encourage you to try harder. They're magical occurrences that constantly push you to be the best you can be. I know for a fact that upon realizing my mistakes, I would get irritated at my foolishness. Instead of looking at it as a gift and using my errors to my benefit, I would think of them as disappointments. However, thanks to Gaiman, I know that the next time I make a faulty judgement, like on a test, I would look at my mistakes in order to improve, and not just forget them.
“May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness… And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.”
ReplyDeleteHonestly speaking everything Mr. Neil Gaiman is suggesting that we do is something we all tend to avoid. Magic is something we commonly associate with childhood and naïve-ness. Yet at the age we are at, we are trying to leave behind childhood and try to be less naïve. Magic is something of the past, as we try to shove it away endlessly. Magic is the power to influence something in supernatural ways. It is also something we used to so blindly believe. It had no explanation—which is what made it so appealing. With magic, there are limitless opportunities. Magic is something of the past, as we try to shove it away endlessly. Now we try to live life by science and logic, as we believe it will make our lives better. Madness is madness. There is no good or bad madness. No matter the type of madness you possess you will without a doubt be classified as eccentric. Never to be taken seriously and to be instantly an outcast in society. Honestly, I hate surprises. With surprises, you lose control of your environment, something we often work hard to gain control of. And by being caught off-guard makes you vulnerable. And vulnerability is an ugly, undesirable trait all humans unfortunately possess.
But on the positive side, magic is what is to look forward in the dark world we live in. It is something innocent and everlasting. Magic cannot fade and it’s… it’s everywhere. As much as logic tries to reason that magic doesn’t exist, magic does, in ever so subtle forms. Madness is what geniuses are composed of. With madness, you are different from others. And with madness comes a special knowledge and imagination. Madness is the key to living a life you can control to your liking.
Dreams…
“I hope… you’ll dream dangerously and outrageously.”
Though we’re encouraged from a young age to dream of big things to accomplish great feats and to exercise our imagination. But it’s hard to forget the fact that not everyone can accomplish great things. Not everyone can be the next Walt Disney or the next Steve Jobs or the next Meryl Streep or the next Michael Jackson. And for the hopeless optimists who say, “You can accomplish anything you want if you try hard,” Coldplay replies, “When you try your best but you don’t succeed…” Everyone strives to be a doctor, lawyer, businessman, actor, or musician but does the world completely consist of these people? No of course not. Dreams fail, whether it be due to your fault or an uncontrollable twist of events. So, if “it's woven into my soul” as Imagine Dragons have once said, why bother dreaming at all?
Dreams, as hopeless as they seem, is your artistic output. And simply wanting something terribly will help you achieve it. Putting endless effort and dedication toward the goal will help you accomplish that goal. And of course, there will be ups and downs. The only things that make people like Jobs and Streep successful are because they rode the road to the end instead of quitting because an obstacle crossed them. Much more who match them in talent could have been as successful as them, if only they had not quit when obstacles hit them before success could.
“And I hope this year you make mistakes.”
ReplyDeleteWe are taught from a young age to avoid mistakes and that they are not good. I mean if mistakes are so good, why are they frowned upon? Suppose we make a mistake academically, then we lose points, slowly ruining our average. If we make mistakes in friendship, we fall out. If we make a mistake in society with say drugs or morality, we’re deemed lesser people. Mistakes equal failure.
But… some of the worst mistakes become the best inventions. Potato chips, microwaves, x-rays, inkjet printers, post-it notes, even penicillin. Without these mistakes we cannot addictively munch on potato chips when we’re bored, we cannot experimentally make weird things in the microwave, get an x-ray to determine if your left ring finger is broken due to a basketball injury, we cannot print our major assignment essay for Reading/Writing at 1 AM, we cannot scribble homework on Post-it notes because we lost our planners, or cannot recover from a simple disease such as a cold.
(I had to post it in two parts because I wrote two hundred characters over the maximum limit)
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ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I loved these quotes and strongly agree with them. I hope I remember them so I can apply them to my life as they are very valid.
ReplyDeleteThe first quote wants the reader to have “good madness”. You should be joyful all the time and only bring and create happiness in your life. Make your imagination go wild and free and create new things. Either by drawing, building, or even singing. Bring joy to yourself and others. Surprise yourself as change is good and so is the unexpected. I agree with this quote. We should always have magic and dreams in our lives because it keeps our mind at ease and we become as light as a feather. We should be creative as it brings the best of us out to the world. Also surprises are great! Sometimes with a surprise we learn and get introduced to new things that we like. When we don't have surprises, we only make decisions that we are comfortable with. Surprises can help us be put outside of our comfort zone.
The second means to dream as much as you can with no limits. I strongly agree with this quote. Our dreams and imagination is like living a second life. In your imagination anything can happen and you can apply that to life. By dreaming crazily, you make the impossible truly possible. Imagination can lead us to a destination we thought could never reach. Dreams have no limits. They make you more determined and build a greater drive. Plus, stay kind all the time because our world needs more peace, kindness, as well as wisdom.
MAKE MISTAKES!! No one in this world is perfect, nor are they supposed to be. By making mistakes we are learning and overcoming our imperfections. Mistakes mean we are exploring the world and coming out of our comfort zone. Don't be scared but go for it, and push yourself. We have all made so many mistakes and they are countless. But most of all you are DOING SOMETHING! Mistakes show you are making an effort. You are doing more good than harm when making mistakes rather than not doing anything at all. You are improving yourself, preparing yourself for the future, and living a life with better opportunities. Don't be perfect but make mistakes in anything. You may not realize but you are helping yourself.
Many times I often think that certain (very few) quotes are an illusion to reality - such as the ones that depict life as a miracle with all fun and games. However, I believe that this quote by Neil Gaiman is truly an exception. It is extremely relatable to the context of life itself and really does leave me feeling as if I have learned a valuable lesson after reading this quote.
ReplyDeleteAs for the first part, (the first three lines) I really agree with what he is saying. In our jam packed work days, with loaded schedules and crazy timings, it is important to sustain to the principles of enjoyment in life. We often overlook dreams and magic as little things for young children, but I didn’t realize this is just as important in our world. We need to continuously strive for a goal, a dream, and a passion. And yes, we do have to work hard and strenuously for it, but if we continue to thrive with our goals or outcomes in mind and don’t forget to have a little fun, even the most tedious parts of your day won’t seem as bad. It is also important to have that “good madness” that Gaiman refers to. Many times we live boring lives - we do our work, we eat, and we sleep. We forget that our body is actually meant for adventure, and that sometimes it is okay to take a break to just be yourself (or have some “me time” as others say.) Sometimes we just have forget the current situation, delve ourselves into something enjoyable like reading your favorite book for a brief period of time, to gain momentum in order to move onto our next task. Other times, you just need to have a talk with a loved one or family member. This also ties in well with making art; it is imperative for people to relax, and think outside of lines, numbers, and computers in this social media dominated society of ours. Being creative doesn’t always have to mean making a Leonardo da Vinci style Mona Lisa masterpiece - it means to do something other than you normally do. If you had long lost your pastime hobby of singing when you were younger, that would be something to pick up on. In addition to hard work, all these things (relaxing, making art, etc) really play a role in achieving your long term goals, and maybe using this you can surprise yourself by accomplishing something.
For the second paragraph of the quote, I believe that Gaiman is posing the fact that sometimes we are too cautious in our ordinary lives when he states, “..that you’ll dream dangerously and outrageously..” Many times, we are too afraid to take the risk of dreaming big; we are too concerned of the fact that we may become over ambitious (this includes me too.) But often we are oblivious to the fact that it is only by taking risks dangerously is when we find new and amazing things. Large opportunities and dreams don’t always stop at your doorstep, waiting for you to notice them. You have to go hunting for them by yourself, often losing small wants to gain a greater ambition. And if you don’t take risks, the chances are very low of you dreaming dangerously. Sometimes people are too scared to dream large and freely; since they don’t know what the outcome is going to be. But this is the only way you can see how far you can go, test your limits, and work on pushing them even further. This is the only way that you can make something that other people haven’t made before. If Thomas Edison was too scared to dream of making a light bulb since he was put down by the dozens of people telling him he couldn’t do it, then perhaps I would be writing this in the dark with a torch. If the person who made the first computer was too scared to build an item that others probably hadn’t even dreamt of at that time, then I would probably be writing this on a piece of paper to hand in tomorrow. Who knows the clever things that we can come up with if we start to dream outrageously? Moreover, it is important to be loved and to love others. In our world full of hatred, it is important that we try to maintain as much love and care for others as possible.
This brings me to the last part of his second paragraph - about being kind and wise. As I mentioned above, our world is filled with negativity, hatred, and harsh words. This can lead to many violent outcomes. But it never hurt anyone to be nice, did it? Being kind is one the very least things we can do to make this world a better place. In our society, we often make repetitive mistakes, which eventually lead to our own downfall. But being wise can prevent that; we have to learn at every mistake, keep the information with us, and apply it in our daily lives in a form of wise decisions.
ReplyDeleteLast but not least, there comes the last paragraph of this quote, my favorite part. Us humans making mistakes remind me of the moon. The moon isn’t just a plain, perfect, white circle everyday. It has different shades, it has craters, it isn’t always perfectly round, and most importantly, it grows each day (please ignore the waning part of the moon cycle for now.) But these shades, craters and shapes are what make us each unique. By bumping into other little asteroids (mistakes) and creating little permanent craters in ourselves (the way we store the information learned), we each have a unique set of experiences to live with. I strongly agree with how Gaiman refers to making mistakes as “making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing the world.” We don’t just stumble upon a new learning experience out of the blue. It is only when you go through a mistake when you get to learn something and try something new. Without experiencing the mistake firsthand, we wouldn’t know what it feels like, thus we would never be able to expand our knowledge from what it already is. For example, I am sure we have all done something really dangerous when we were really young, such as putting your hand in a flame, through which we were given a lesson on why we should not do that again. It isn’t until firsthand you have experienced the mistake until you have actually learned or tried something new. In fact, that is how we as humans have evolved up till today. Our ancestors learned new things by making mistakes, and if they never made mistakes out in the wild, we would probably not have any knowledge on how to live or what to eat right now. If you are making mistakes, then you are actually pushing yourself to the next level, you are giving yourself a challenge, and you are most probably doing things that you haven’t done before. We often aren’t very productive in our lives - we just sit there, working and living a “normal, typical” life. That’s really not doing anything, but once you make a mistake, that means you are actually trying. It shows your efforts, your will to succeed, and your passion. In the very last few lines, Neil Gaiman is basically saying to not worry about what kind of mistakes you make. They may be weird, they may be crazy mistakes nobody has ever thought of, or they may be large, glorious mistakes. But at the end, it all benefits you. You don’t have to worry about what others think about you. You may not be perfect (nobody is, anyway.) You may think that you are not “good enough” to fit in. You may be too scared to take a leap in any field, as I mentioned above. But despite all this, Neil Gaiman taught me: A mistake you make now that seems foolish, a small learning experience that seems too miniscule to be of any help, will benefit you greatly down the long road called life.
Everyone has a busy life, but no one has the time to look over their dreams and live a little. That is what this poem is about--learning to dream, live your life, and make mistakes.
ReplyDeleteThe first quote, “May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams...,” has much meaning behind it. Magic and dreams are the things we forget about later in life as we feel as if we don’t have no place in life for them anymore. We are constantly worried about plain things such as good grades, good jobs, and etc. but in the process, our life is consumed before our lives--only worrying. Magic and dreams are the one thing that gives hope and will brighten your life from woe and despair.
Magic is something different for everybody. For parents, maybe, magic might be their little kids laughing, singing, dancing--having the time of their lives. This would make their parents somethings to to be happy about and not just spend their lives--worrying. For another person it could simply just be helping. Helping would be the person’s way to keep themselves happy and away from their own lives’ sorrows. Magic is the one thing that keeps us away from the harsh reality of the world. Drowning in magic is the most wonderful thing as it will keep you sane in life and will protect you from the evil and the worries.
Dreams cannot be accomplished by everyone--that is why so many people give up on them. They are wrong, however. Dreams are the best thing to happen to anyone living on this planet. Dreams are what keep the intention of living happily, strong and alive in people’s hearts. So dreaming “dangerously and outrageously” will make hope and possibilities even stronger in your heart and who knows? Maybe one day you’ll be able to achieve it!
“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes...Make new mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect…”
Making mistakes is the one thing that is the important part of life. Mistakes are what keep the world and its inhabitants alive. Science is advancing everyday due to mistakes. I mean, it was only a little spark that was a mistake for us to have fire now. It was only by a mistake that helped Christopher Columbus discover America. It was only a mistake that helped make Post-it notes, that are so important in many people’s lives (me). It was only a mistake that allowed Alexander Fleming to discover penicillin, an antibiotic that has helped people live for so long. Great things come from mistakes. Mistakes are the greatest thing ever to happen to mankind. So make mistakes and don’t hesitate to think of what people will think. Academically, mistakes are the greatest things that can happen to you. So what if you fail a test? Get up and try harder. Don’t give up. You’ll get to that A+. Making mistakes will help you know what you need to improve and it will help you get back up on your feet. Mistakes will help you in small ways, such as academically, and in big ways such as coming up with Apple.
WOW! Thanks for doing all this deep thinking. Clearly, you like Gaiman's mindset!
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