A card stuck to the side of the fridge
Originally published on September 6, 2012
Just got off the phone with my cousin Alex who’s currently on a nation-wide tour with his band, The Paper Raincoat. This is a guy who’s always been an inspiration for me growing up -one of the few people that I can look back on who have helped point me to where I am today. After our talk, I started thinking about not only his, but how the creative nature/sense/ability of my father’s side of my family has left an imprint on my life. Not only are we creative in nature, but, and this is important, being Asian, we have struggled with accepting and feeling accepted by our family to pursue our careers and ultimately our destiny. If anything, it shows me that you can’t staunch natural creativity. Sooner or later, it has to come out. It is a gift bestowed upon for a reason. To influence and inspire others. It needs to be seen. Every note that played, every word that is written, every brushstroke, and every website that is designed and experienced by others, makes a difference. And like the butterfly effect, sends waves through humanity, adding to the modern-day zietgeist around us.
Being one of the youngest cousins I was more of an observer to their fanatical lifestyles. Always wishing to join in, but being too intimated to do so. I couldn’t speak their language, and I felt pressured whenever placed into a social situation with them. However, it never stopped me from looking up to them and mimicking them in my need to belong. Proving that I existed to them, would prove that I existed in the world.
Presently my inspiration comes from Alex. It all started with a card stuck to the side of a fridge. I must have been around 9 at the time, but remember it so clearly. It was a drawing of Garfield jumping out of a pile of money thanking our grandmother. Being a huge Garfield fan, I was amazed at his ability to mimic the artist’s style so accurately. I must have stared at it for awhile, studying every nuance, and thinking of ways that I could create something if not as good, but better (Seems as if I always had a competitive streak). For years, I drew Garfield on everything, from cards to wrapping paper. It got so bad that my parents, misunderstanding my true intentions, started buying me Garfield pillows, bed sheets, stuffed animals, stickers, etc..
Flash forward to college, and Alex working at Razorfish as a graphic designer. Flash forward 2 years later and I’m working as a graphic designer at Sapient. Working through the dot.com boom.
These days he’s out on international tours with various bands, doing exactly what he was meant to do. Living a life without an office, fancy car, a six-figure salary. In the end, isn’t this what life is all about? For him, its been a long journey towards acceptance. He still worries about what the family thinks about his lifestyle, but he shouldn’t. Because it doesn’t matter. Happiness matters. Living matters. You are born alone, you are responsible with how you live your live in-between life and death. Thomas Jefferson had it right when he wrote the Declaration of Independence and included the words, “-(we) are endowed by (our) Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. With these truths we should also remember that the pursuit is the harder road to take in today’s culture. We are brought up with the notion of conservative self-preservation, one that is built on more money than we actually need. What we forget is that money is only a means to an end. Money is an enabler. It gives us the freedom to pursue our destiny, our dreams, our love for life. Its not about accumulating it over time to spend in our golden years. Its to be used now, for in our ‘selfish’ pursuits, it is the now where we can affect the most change.
