PEBBLE
People seem not to remember that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson, shared by Kat in Toronto, ON
BOULDER
People do not simply exist but always decide what their existence will be, what they will become in the next moment. By the same token, every human being has the freedom to change at any instant. One could say that human existence, at any given moment, is always an unfinished product. It is impossible to define a human being in static terms; we are always in the process of becoming, always moving forward–or backward–depending on the choices we make.
~Viktor Frankl (lightly edited), shared by Matt in Philadelphia, PA
PONDER
Bright and early on this very day (March 24th) way back in 1984, five students were reporting to their school library for a day of detention at Shermer High School in Shermer, Illinois.
Ok, not really.
But that is the date used in the setup for the classic 1980s movie The Breakfast Club, and I’ve watched the movie so many times that March 24th pops up on my calendar every year as “Breakfast Club.”
In the movie, Vice Principal Vernon issues an assignment to write a thousand-word essay describing “who you think you are.” Here’s the version we hear Brian (the Brain) reading during the opening credits of the film:
“Dear Mr. Vernon. We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. What we did was wrong, but we think you’re crazy to make us to write an essay telling you who we think we are. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us: in the simplest terms, the most convenient definitions. You see us as a Brain, an Athlete, a Basketcase, Princess, and a Criminal. Correct? That’s the way we saw each other at 7 o’clock this morning. We were brainwashed.”
We hear this again at the end of the film, with a minor tweak to its final sentence:
“…You see us as you want to see us: in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain, and an athlete, a basketcase, a princess, and a criminal.”
Despite a few scenes that have NOT aged well (at all), the movie has remained a favorite for many people in part because of the “judgment journey” it takes us on. The characters initially judge each other based on the boxes that society has put each of them in. Throughout the day, they gradually get to experience how different each person is compared to initial perceptions, and also how much they ultimately have in common with each other. Importantly, we see some signs at the end of the movie that the characters may be on the verge of changing and growing as a result of their day together. Who we are and who we are becoming is so much more than how we are seen by others.
Since today is Breakfast Club day, I’m inviting us all to think about some of the judgments we’ve been making about others (and ourselves?), and to reflect on how stereotyping, confirmation bias, and/or projection of our own insecurities might be playing a role in these judgments.
None of this means we are REQUIRED to change our opinions, of course. This is just an invitation to notice where a shift in perspective might be helpful.
