CULTURE

2022 Was the Year I Finally Bet On Myself and It Has Made All the Difference

C’mon, McFly. You’re better than this.

Universal Pictures

“All artistic creation is a form of imitation.” ~ Plato

“Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” ~ Oscar Wilde

All my life I have looked to stories for guidance and instruction. I’m not unique in this. We’ve been telling each other cautionary tales since the first caveman tried to ride a saber-toothed tiger and Leroy Jenkinsed his way to a quick and messy death. The difference is that I tend to think about my life in very meta-story terms, as though I am both the protagonist and the audience. It’s sort of like Deadpool with less gratuitous violence.

Is that weird?

There is purity in the artifice of life as seen on the screen that can’t be found in the real thing. Reality is often too messy and random to draw concrete conclusions from. As a guiding principle for life, the Hero’s Journey offers the comfort and simplicity of structure. “Ah — this is the Call to Adventure. Perhaps I should finally accept it.” This implies that I’m acutely self-aware, which sadly is not usually the case.

For years I have unwittingly imitated a character from one of my all-time favorite films, Back…