Author: jbaz

This is Lily. Lily has outsmarted the world. She can do whatever she wants…and be successful.

I would write a short biography of her life thus far, but truly, I don’t think I or anyone knows exactly what’s she’s up to…the one thing we know though is that she’s always up to something. Here are some glimpses of Lily in the world:

Lily and I met in high school, I knew her to be someone who is fond of music, she was exceptional pianist as well as first chair cello in the high school orchestra. One evening, Lily came to my house to hangout….with a guitar. Lily explains, “I’m teaching myself how to play guitar.” And so she did.

Lily spent a year at Kalamazoo College, then transferred to UM the following year. One day, I saw her at the CCRB on the stationary bike with headphones in watching the children’s show Caillou. No question of why. It’s Lily. She’s probably up to something. I took a seat on the bike next to her, and she acknowledged the fact that she’s watching a show for toddlers. “I’m learning Portuguese.” And so she did. Next thing I know I got a Facebook message from Lily indicating that she was traveling in Portugal. 

Lily had mentioned “I’m interested in studying medicine.” I texted Lily last month to ask if she was free on Friday. She responds, “I’ll be in Uganda, as I am currently in Uganda.” Lily was volunteering with Operation International, a surgery team that provides health care around the world. Upon her return to the States, Lily found herself at center stage in front of a small crowd at a newer singer-songwriter venue called Open Floor Studio. From the girl who could roughly play a C chord on the guitar at my house years ago to here in Ann Arbor performing her own original folk songs, Lily is a self taught musical prodigy and self-taught whatever she wants to be. I admire how Lily always has an idea and then will to make it come true. She is a breathing embodiment of Walt Disney’s expression: “If you can dream it, you can do it.” I can’t wait for the rest of the world to meet her.

The UMMA presented a documentary about a Disney animator titled “Floyd Norman: An Animated Life.” From the film, the viewers got to know Floyd Norman and his journey with Walt Disney Animation Studios, beginning with his first rejection to being employed to his later rejection. Keep reading to see what I mean.

He seems like a goofy guy, carefree and creative (as reflected by his attire: a black fedora and round glasses), and extremely passionate about his role as a writer, animator, and comic artist. From the documentary, I was hoping to get some insight as to how to find a career that is as fulfilling as animation is for Floyd Norman, but alas, there was no obvious method, no algorithm, no secret that guaranteed this. Norman shared that he applied to the job at Disney and was rejected. Disney said “go get an education.”

First rejection.

So he went to college. Three years into college, he got a call from Disney, and he was asked, “Do you still want a job? If you do then come to the office at 8am on Monday.” And on Monday he went…and since then still works for Disney. I guess what I learned from this is that getting an education is the most important element to pursuing anything. It’s a platform for everything you might want to do…especially at a school like Michigan that allows for extensive opportunities in various fields. Norman went to college to follow the protocol enforced by his dream job. While in college, he could have continued pursuing what was expected in order to achieve that Disney goal. He could have given up the Disney idea. He could have found a path leading to a future he liked better. This is one purpose of education: verification and exploration and verification. You read that correctly. It took his first rejection to verify that he truly wanted to employment with Disney because he committed to the the crooked, unplanned pathway they assigned to him. What are you willing to do to achieve your dream future? While you have an outline to your goal, you can explore along your way. For example, you may take the credentials for a career in medicine and then realize that you want go into fashion. It’s your life. Do whatever you want. So what if you change your mind. See is as: now you’ve harvested a new skill in knowing science. Knowledge, of any domain, is power…in more ways than one. More importantly, you’ll never wonder what if…you’re purpose will be supported not only by interests, but likewise by the disinterests. I think the latter statement is extremely underrated. Knowing what you don’t like is crucial to narrowing down what you do like. Otherwise, you could be missing a world of interests you overlooked. Exploration does not necessarily indicate a change in goal. It coincides with verification. When you explore, you verify that you want to follow the path you’ve chosen or you verify that you want to change it. This self knowledge gives power to your decisions. Knowledge is power…in more ways than one.

The documentary ended and the lights came on. I was going to the UMMA to watch a movie and it was over. Ready to leave, I turned towards the exit when my companion stopped me and gestured to look toward the front of the small auditorium. A man in a black fedora and round glasses walked down the side aisle to the stage under the screen. Floyd Norman, here at Michigan. He stayed for a Q&A session. One point I want to reiterate is his philosophy on growing old. He’s 80 years-old and he says he can’t wait for 90. What an admirable perspective on aging. And the most inspiring part of this UMMA excursion was learning that he was asked to leave work because he was too old.

Second rejection.

He was furious. So Norman found a way to continue “working.” Most people look forward to their retirement starting as early as…well, now. In college. People are thrilled to stop working. Not Floyd Norman. He found a job that never asked him to work a day in his life. How do you do that?

So, I don’t know the secret. Is it rejection? Exploration and verification? Unless you have the secret…

Hundreds of people of all ages crowded the Michigan Theater to see a presentation part of the Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series: the Blue Planet and Planet Earth Production Teams: “Capturing the Wild.” The team traveled around the world to places you and I will probably never see in order to expose the beautiful planet we call home.

To introduce the evening, the representative from the U-M Museum of Natural History’s William R. Farrand Memorial Lecture announced the museum’s grand reopening, special thanks to the support from U-M Institute for the Humanities. Then the lights went out and the room was pitch black. Out of the darkness, the audience saw a piercing light from the ceiling. Under the light is a helmet. Then attached to the helmet, a man descended from the ceiling attached to a rope assembly with the headlamp. Tim Fogg. What an entrance. He, the rope access specialist, landed and met his wife and co-specialist, Pam Fogg, on stage to share their experience in making Planet Earth and its companion BBC show, Blue Planet Production. I was astounded by the teamwork necessary to make this film happen. Other speakers include Hugh-Jones and Rachael Butler. Without going too far into details in the production, it was clear that they and anyone else on the team each served as a vital part of the team, and in very particular ways. For example, Hugh-Jones discussed how the videocamera needs to be on a completely flat surface, but in nature, this is hard to come by…especially on a cliff in the polar regions. While they were shooting the gaping glacier entrance, they wanted to get the perfect angle to view the opening of the cave which would be from the middle of the glacial wall surrounding the entrance, stacking thousands of feet above ground. So, they had an expert team (of what I would guess are mastermind physicists) contruct a platform INTO THE GLACIAL WALL. It was somehow suspended safety into the steep siding and steady for the videographer to sit for hours on end while they get the best coverage. Another element that amazed me was the exclusive sitings that they had to strategic placement of cameras based on knowledge of the land (for this job a biologist or zoologist seems suitable) and the animals that inhabit the land. This photo was taken by a camera hidden alongside a mountain.

Not to mention the patience during this entire process! So two things that I wondered during this presentation:

1. How many different careers were pooled into the Planet Earth team? The presentation accounted for potentially pilots, physicists, zoologists, videographers, divers, doctors…what else? This is reassuring to young people out there who don’t know what to do with their career paths. With such a diverse team, maybe you too could apply your skills to the Planet Earth group.
2. If these people have traveled all over the world to places unseen by man, does the world feel small to them? What is it that makes the world feel small? Is it traveling to many places? Or knowing many people? Reading many books about different cultures? What do you think?

Words have the power to tell a story. The words that you chose determine how you tell the story. The purpose for saying the words is why you tell the story. You use words to explain whom the story is about and where the story takes place. Most people use words every day to communicate with others. We can understand each other because we share words in a common language. The language you use influences the fundamental process that you use to think. The language in which you think modifies how you perceive an external stimulus. These words, thoughts, and perceptions create an identity for you as the speaker.

Now, I want you to reflect on the identity of different countries. What does this have to do with words? Their language? Oh, but it has everything to do with their language. So back to my first reflection prompt: reflect on the identity of various countries. Let’s start with the United States of America. Typically, the United States is viewed as a collection of independents, indulgent to a point of selfishness, and with a strong emphasis on self sufficiency. Heck, the American Dream is a national ethos built on the freedom to achieve. The majority of this country’s inhabitants speak English. In English, the standard syntax is subject, verb, object. Because of this, the frame in which we speak is implicitly selfish. The center of the sentence is the personal pronoun “I”. Everything proceeding the sentence reacts to “I”. The behaviors and attitudes of English-speakers largely reflects their language.

Translate these following sentences into Spanish:

“I like to write.” –> “Me gusta escribir.”

“I forgot my book at home.” –> “Se me quedó el libro en casa.”

If you literally translate what was said in Spanish, it will sound like “Writing is pleasing to me” and  “My book stayed at home.” Sounds odd, right? Typically, English speakers do not frame their sentences in this way. Notice how the Spanish translations places writing and book as the subjects of the sentences. It’s not about the speaker; it’s about the subject of interest. Writing embraces the role of being a desired activity, a pleasurable activity if you will, therefore the significance is placed on writing, not one’s self. Notice then how Spanish culture is notably generous. In the two summers I spent in Belize, lower-class mothers catered to my needs, giving me a home and what food they had. Children would offer me their most prized drawings. They hadn’t even the supplies to make the drawing until I provided it for them and yet they offer me the product of hours of their time with notes of gratefulness and love. The benevolence in these people was astounding. A component of this kinds is surely due to the selfless nature of the language in which they think, speak, then act. Furthermore, Spanish speakers tend to be less uptight than inhabitants of American society who generally takes blame heavily upon themselves. In the sense of forgetting the book, my Spanish professor, a skinny mellow 5 foot 6, black sneaker-wearing old man, once phrased it “the book takes the blame for being forgotten.” Americans hurry through an extensive schedule. Every single day. (Stereotypically speaking. But stereotypes don’t come from nothing…) People in Granada, Spain take a nap around 2-3pm. Every single day. The streets are quiet during this time. People relax.

Clearly, language dictates how you interpret the world around you. Knowing another language is like having another perspective on life.

So I declared a major in Spanish as part of my studies at the University of Michigan because I wonder how having another language would influence how I perceive the world around me and how I perceive myself. Not a bad idea for you, in any language, to try out a new perspective.