*note: This was written to be read out loud, in front of the class*
In my introduction to sociology class we started watching the documentary “American Movie”, about an independent filmmaker named Mark Borschardt. Borschardt lives in a trailer park in Wisconsin. He has a mullet, works on films with whatever money his elderly uncle will give him, owes lots of people a lot of money, and has never made any money with his movies.
Some people might call Mark a loser. There were plenty of kids in the class that did. I think he’s an American hero. It’s not his fault he was born poor in Wisconsin. This is what he wants to do, and he won’t stop trying just because you don’t think highly of him. He works hard on his films, and never gives up during the three and a half years the documentary was shot in.
I bet the kids that criticized him have never worked that long on anything. We as a society like to mock those with enthusiasm, envy those with success, and discourage those who take a different route. Mark is doing something that makes him happy, and he’s not hurting anyone. I imagine after the documentary about him got popular he’s actually doing fairly well.
We’ve got too many lawyers in this country. Practicing law isn’t as glamorous as on television. You’ve got to take depositions, fill out a lot of paperwork, spend a lot of time researching cases, and none of it’s fun. Even less of it’s important.
I suggest to all of you that if you’re just here for the sake of putting in your four years so you can go to law school and make a lot of money to rethink things. The only way to make that money is to work for big companies doing evil things. If there’s something that you love to do, do it. If you loved working on your family’s farm, go be a farmer. If you want to make films, start making them.
It seems to me that there are two different ways to get “successful” in this country. The first way- which is the most common route and the easier of the two- is to screw somebody over. Build a factory in China and pay people a dollar a day to make socks, then sell them over here for four times that. The other way is to do something you absolutely love, and have everyone admire you because you’re doing what they don’t have the guts to do.
If the only time you’ve ever really been happy is while you’re hiking, and you just don’t feel like you fit in here, I suggest you quit. Just drop out. There’s no shame in it. Lots of people are going to stay even though it goes against their instincts, get straight D’s, not learn anything and then go on to a job that pays what’s considered a respectable wage and absolutely hate it. You on the other hand, will have saved the tuition costs for the next three years, and that’s some consolation. What you do after telling the school you won’t be returning, is hitch hike to the tallest mountain in North America and climb it. Hop on a bus (with some of that cash you’ve saved), and climb the tallest mountain in South America. Meet interesting people. Make your journey- the one that everybody sits in class daydreaming about. Don’t stop until you’ve seen the tops of all the continents and had plenty of adventures. Then write a book about how you quit school to climb mountains and be happy. I’m sure Larry King will want to hear all about it.
(Larry King by the way, did not attend college)
