Imagining Heroes

I sent in all of my homeschooling paperwork to my school district. Most likely, I will not hear back from them. Usually they don't bother. This is fine with me. I figure no news is good news. Being well known can be an incredible burden.

Consider the cost of popularity. I've seen too many examples of people being hoisted up onto pedestals, expected to be infallible, and then they are knocked down by the mobs when it turns out that they truly were human. People have a funny way of creating an image of the people they idolize. We humans are a creative lot. We sometimes mistake our imaginings for reality. I recently watched Julie and Julia (excellent movie, by the way). In the movie, Julie Powell, learns about Julia Child through her attempt to cook everything in Julia Child's first cookbook. (I couldn't help but think that this was something an unschooler might do!) As Julie's own popularity grew through writing a blog about her experience, she was devastated by a negative comment from her idol, Julia Child. It's a touching scene when her husband explains that the Julia she has come to love and see as a mentor only exists in her mind. She created a Julia Child that perfectly matched what she needed.

Is it wrong to admire others and look to them for leadership? No. I think we need the inspiration that comes from celebrating the accomplishments of others. We are most human when we can share the happiness of a victory that is not our own, or commiserate over a defeat that does not affect us personally. The problem comes when we create expectations for our heroes, when we hold them to standards that set them up for failure.

I think this is why it has taken me so long to set my own thoughts and comics into a book. I'm not crazy about pedestals. I'm afraid of heights. This doesn't mean a book won't eventually happen, simply that I will move a bit slower than most. Like a little ant collecting one crumb at a time, I have slowly built up my stockpile of comic strips. I am amazed to have reached five hundred, and I have the 500th ready to show you on Wednesday. In spite of that accomplishment, my priority right now is being with my husband and children, so any grand schemes I have are limited to those fleeting moments between life adventures and quarterly reports.