today is the day Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett died. today is the day I had to write a tribute to the King of Pop. I tried to do it as respectfully as possible, not wanting to be obtrusive. but then I had to add a link so that people can download his songs. and, again, I thought about what has been bugging me the past couple of weeks—what a complete sell out I am.
the worst part is knowing that I’d do it again. because it’s what I can do—writing that is, not selling out. it’s how I make a living. it’s what I enjoy doing—writing that is, not selling out.
this was never the plan. but then again, I never plan. what I lack in strategic career preparation, I make up for in a self assessed notion of creative-slash-intellectual pursuit of truth, beauty, and other metaphysical concepts. in short, I went for whimsy instead of security.
not that I mind the lack of the latter, but at the end of the day, especially if you live in a third-world country, one needs to eat. and, if you’re a self-professed artiste, one needs to swallow a lot of crap to be able to make ends meet. and that means compromise.
and I ponder on the timing of this existential dilemma. is it because pop icons which represented my generation are now gone? is it because at 31, I still have not set one word on my future best-selling, critically acclaimed novel? is it because I am slowly arriving at the end of my compromise tether?
hmmm…
today, the King of Pop and an angel died. It is the end of an era. does this mean that I have to grow up now?
Sure we can grow up.
ReplyDeleteWe can also honor Michael by taking the youthfulness that he embodied so well to heart and just keep on living young :)