Comments on: Rant: When to Quit Listening to Others

By: 2ThePoint

2ThePoint — Sun, 18 May 2008 12:39:42 +0000

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh - well ranted, my dear, well ranted!

I remember being asked to write about love & pain as part of a performance I did with a group of women. I ended up writing a 4-page letter to an ex of mine. I call it ‘my howl to the moon’. Was VERY therapeutic. I decided I was gonna give a copy of it to him & was adviced by friends NOT TO. So glad I didn’t listen. One of the best decisions I made.

I have found that following my own sway is more important than the entrapment I sometimes feel when I’m doing what other people feel I should do (even if they mean well).

take care, Amy…

By: Amy

Amy — Sun, 18 May 2008 17:44:35 +0000

@2ThePoint - Ballsy! I like it, and I’m glad that you defied public opinion and had a good result from it. So glad to hear from you again!

By: 2ThePoint

2ThePoint — Sun, 18 May 2008 19:37:39 +0000

It’s good to be back, dear.

take care…

By: Sherree

Sherree — Sun, 18 May 2008 19:50:31 +0000

I don’t have anything nearly as pithy to say as 2thepoint. She’s a tough act to follow, but I’m intrigued that women in your peer group question your decision not to marry your boyfriend. Don’t they realize that single people out number marrieds in this country? Projections are that marriage will be outmoded in 50 or so years, save for those with strong religious convictions. I never cease to be amazed that people feel at ease commenting on other people’s business. Gladys Kravitz lives! (An obscure refeerence to ’60s sitcom “Bewitched for those unfamiliar with the reference.).

I can relate to your subhead on “What a Writer Should Be.” Many writers, especially male ones, seem to believe that if you’re not hard at work on the great American novel, you’re not a “real” writer. I would argue that to make dense, technical subjects interesting takes some writing chops too! Keep ranting and rolling.

By: Johnny Martin

Johnny Martin — Mon, 19 May 2008 01:58:31 +0000

Thank goodness for sticking it to ‘the man’. I had to say, when I saw the ‘How To’ header, I almost stopped reading. It /usually/ gets too preachy for me to handle, and I stop reading, but here I was awarded by support for my imaginary anti-conformist movement.

Thank you for that lovely rant. Oh, greets and salutes, since this is my first comment on QRW.

By: Amy

Amy — Mon, 19 May 2008 02:53:11 +0000

@Sherree - It is interesting, isn’t? I think women in their 20s and 30s are a bit more traditional and conservative when it comes to marriage and kids than media hounds would have us believe. So when I come along with my strange arrangement, hell hath no fury.

@Johnny - Welcome! So glad to have you here, and to see another rebel in the midst. Rock on.

By: Paul Darcy

Paul Darcy — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:57:01 +0000

I’m not one to really comment on conformity since I work in a cubicle for a huge corporation 9-5 . . .

. . . but, I am a creative creature by nature and the 9-5 is just, well, cash to pay for food, shelter, transportation and entertainment.

I am of two minds of the whole what you-should-do/be school and the freedom to be who you really are or do what you want to do. I mean if everybody on Earth were to do just what they want to do, we would be in one complete hell of a mess, don’t you think?

But I stray from the way - there is a way, right? Being a writer, to me anyhow, is writing. Period. It is a creative outlet where there are no real rules and if you stay true to yourself you will not only dance to a different drummer, but create a completely unique percussion instrument all your own . . .

Have I made any sense at all? My only other annoying comment - Never say never; it closes doors of opportunity and makes one rigid, like rigor mortis . . .

By: Amy

Amy — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:44:17 +0000

@Paul - excellent points. I’m reminded about the purpose of this blog, to show how I quietly rebel against key strictures and find fulfillment, and how others can too. But to rebel against the ways of the world just for the sake of rebellion is pointless and detrimental. My concentration is on areas in which traditions and stereotypes abound, and from which it can be difficult to blaze a useful, fulfilling path. A distinction, one that may be fine, but which leaves things more open and flexible, and hopefully eliminates the rigidity.

And your lovely phrase about dancing to a different drummer, and then completely creating a unique percussion instrument: a beautiful way to think about it!

By: Jenni Prokopy

Jenni Prokopy — Mon, 26 May 2008 22:30:11 +0000

you are so right on, babe. i am linking to you in tomorrow’s chronicbabe enewsletter. you gotta do what makes sense for you, even if the “experts” don’t always agree. you inspire me!