Only In My Mind

After many days of searching I finally found the quote from the Curious Case of Benjamin Button that allows this piece to be written. I am very excited to write this piece!

In the interesting world that is my brain sometimes things just make sense to me and they might not make any sense to anyone else. I hope I am able to convey why a nearly decade-old quote from a Dr. Dre song and a beautiful speech from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button sing in such beautiful harmony to me.

What cause I been in the lab wit a pen and a pad Tryna get this damn label off
Dr. Dre Forget About Dre

What the Dr. Dre line means to me is you don’t have to accept the label that others give you. Through hard work you can overcome any label. I always say that line to myself when I’m practicing by myself. Whether it is a Saturday night in Champaign or random weekday afternoon in the Lakeshore Fieldhouse I refuse to accept the label of inferiority. I know a greater player lies underneath and I must prove it to myself one pass against the wall at a time. No matter what your craft is you can get that label off one step at a time.

“For what it’s worth, it’s never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit... start whenever you want... you can change or stay the same. There are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that stop you. I hope you feel things that you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life that you’re proud of and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.”-Benjamin Button

When it comes to the quote from Benjamin Button I feel there is less to explain. The strength of the words does enough speaking I do not need to add anything to it. As a little view into my head here was my thought as soon as I heard the speech in the movie. Yes! Yes! Yes! This is exactly what I’m talking about!

Always push forward, always go after your dreams, refuse the self-limiting thoughts, find some way to get the spark and be brave enough to take action.

Those are a few things floating around in my head. I hope a new spark goes off in someone else’s head too therefore making the title obsolete.

Thanks for reading
Chris