I started college in 2008, one year after Randy Pausch’s “Last Lecture.” The book version of the lecture was required reading for my first semester English course. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and there was a lot to take away from it, but the loudest lesson to me was this: “Wait long enough and people will surprise and impress you.”
I held this mantra for many years. Any time I had a bad first impression from someone, any time I was upset with someone, I would calm myself, and I would wait. And it was often true. They would often redeem themselves. But there is a limit.
Eventually, I found that some people kept doing wrong by me and the people I loved. How many times can one wait to be surprised and impressed?
It turns out, if you start peeling back the layers, there is indeed a surprising and impressive layer beneath the one people show to the world. But what lies beyond that? Is there a core of pleasantness to every person below their public face? There is more depth to humans than that.
The truth of the human experience is found when we peel back ALL the layers. When you get to the core of what makes someone themself, what do you find? It is different for each of us. Some will continue to impress even after the surprise is gone, but others will leave you waiting, and we all have a darkness there that we would rather hide. It is not until you meet the core of the person that you truly know them, and only then can you begin to love the person you find there.
Stay tuned for more “Behind the Poem” entries throughout the month of April, and if you want a sneak peek at tomorrow’s poem, check my Patreon. (It’s free!)
Happy reading,
Sibyl