021: Learnting

LOL the last blog was 2020, so let’s recap what’s the most important lessons we’ve all learned since then. 

First, zoom podcasts guests suck. There are few things worse in the world, racism obviously, world hunger too, but zoom podcast guests being presented as worthy content is certainly in the top ten. I’m not sure how every single person did a zoom podcast and collectively thought “yes, this is a good idea.” It’s not. It’s worthless. Almost nothing of value has ever been said over zoom’s poor microphone quality. I’m not an audiophile, I’m just a normal person who has standards and thinks all podcast hosts who subjected us to zoom guests should be charged with crimes against humanity. But also they should be pardoned because I’m a modern empathic male living in a post Barbie world. 

Second, 2021 didn’t count. Whatever happened that year just needs to be struck from the record. Murdered someone? That’s a mulligan. 

Third, the 5-9 hustle after your 9-5 culture was a scam. Every 30+ year old I know had a “GaryV is a fucking moron” awakening moment as we all realized we should have gone out drinking more in our 20s instead of mainlining drop ship brainstorm sessions in shitty apartments until 3am. It might have been him and the dumbest people you know raw dogging the NFT thing, but a whole ass bro hustle culture got smashed in record time. Hustle culture went the way of the pet rock and we all feel ridiculous. Entrepreneurial post nut clarity is a hell of an experience. 

Fourth, America at its core is not a complicated place, but is complicated by raising up the worst voices. I try not to be a “NYC has this shit figured out” person but when a crazy person gets on a train here and starts yelling whatever leadbrained thought popped in their head, we turn up our headphones or simply move to another car. America basically decided that the crazy train person deserves an equal platform of exposure. America needs to switch train cars fast, or the crazies will take over the cab, and we all know where fascists like to drive trains. 

Fifth, Everything is broken and everything can be made new again. Literally all the shit doesn’t work, so it’s a great time to make new shit that does work and is awesome. Let’s just all do that and vibe out.

Sixth, Rodney Mullen is the voice of our generation. 

“This is the luxury of having spent my life doing what I love. The cost of that? It sucks. I’m not blind. I’m not numb to the pain. I would argue I’m more conscious of it than anybody else. But I’m also more conscious of what that gives me. And when I’m done with this, that will be what it is, and I’ll find a way. But there’s something inside of me, propelling, that I’m not going to give up until the wheels fall off. That’s what I’m made of. And I wish — I see all the arguments against it — but I wish I could relate the intangibles to you. My guess is that we’re all built the same. None of us are completely stupid. A little deranged, I think there’s a strong argument there. I do. But ultimately, we also know what we have. And to go and lay down in that sense of it, that’s like, embracing what we’ve done with our lives.”

Whatever your thing is, art, photography, or just fucking surviving, Rodney’s words help contextualize the millennial and partly Gen Z experiences. We are all the Rodney Mullen of our own lives. Beaten, battered, broken down in a society that is crumbling and we keep going because the drug of living is the most addictive chemical there is. 

Seventh, it’s go time. Hit the publish button, we ain’t getting younger.