Are you the Main Character of your own Life?

Thats a funny question to ask actually, "Are you the main character of your own life?" I can't really imagine anyone saying someone else is the main character in their own life, like 'Yeah my friend Bob, he is the main character, I am just a supporting role in his epic tale, pretty much if he dies I would also have to take my own life because his story has finished'. No. Im sure everyone consider themselves as the main character of their own lives, it's my story, my life, etc etc. I guess the real question is, how important is your story?

Eversince I was a small ugly child, I have considered myself to be the STAR of my own movie. "The Life of Ry" is the title of the film, without sounding too egotentacles, it just mean that I felt I was destined to do great things, this might have something to do with how I was brought up, I was very optimistic, I was quite spoiled even, I was always happy and laughing, it may have something to do with me being an only child and the fact that I was the first son of my dad's, who was also the first son of my grandparent's (I was like the golden child, somehow very important in Asian culture I duno why). Anyway I considered myself to be the center of it all, and I play the title character Ry, I look forward to my Oscar Award winning performance in the future.

However, as I got older, unfortunately reality hit me. I started to realise that although I may still be the main character of my own movie, the title of my movie is called "Life of an Extra". I started to realise, the real main characters of the movie is not me, they are the people who has power and money, or the people who has done extraordinary things, and my role is to support them. If you remember a while ago I told the story of the Tortoise and the Hare, long story short back in kindergarten I had to dress up as a Tortoise and deliberately lose to the Hare, but I didn't want to, I wanted to be the winner, going against my teacher's instructions, I decided to win the race. Why did I want to win? Because in my mind I was the main character. And of course that in turn got me in a lot of trouble. Jump forward many years, I worked as an illustrator for Dr G, if you remember I told this story a while back called I will not be subjected to criminal abuse. (Im sorry I keep referencing old stories, its optional to read the prequels for the full "Life of Ry" experience but not required.), I pretty much had to to kiss my boss's butt like its my one true love. I had to take orders from him, I had to laugh at his offensive and even racist jokes, I had to work extra hours, all for what? All for getting that little bit of green so that my boss could get what he wants. Not to mention I had to fight for my rights to get that pay, initially he wasn't gonna pay me because he sees me working there as a 'trial', but its all BS to get some free drawings done ok? So yeah I even had to fight for my rights to land my role as an extra. Wow. But at the end I quit that job because I felt the company was shady and I still saw myself as the protagonist destined to do great things, NOT an extra kissing the ass of a villain.

I got more and more depressed as years went by, I started to question why I kept getting job offers as an extra, I was born to be Leonardo Dicaprio and not Whats-his-Face. Then I had an epiphany, what if.. what if I am not Leonardo Dicaprio? What if I really am just an extra? And what is the most important part of being an extra? You really just had to show up. And thats what most people do with their lives anyway, they just show up and do what they are told. So for the jobs after that, I decided to take it but with the mindset of an extra, I did what my boss wanted without complaining, I also didn't care too much about trying to be perfect at everything, I started to not care too much about me but rather about what the boss wanted, I played my role as an extra, and that in turn surprisingly made me happier. I didn't aim to work to win awards but rather just work to get paid, and that is required to play the game of life right? So maybe, just maybe, the key to happiness is to ACCEPT that you are just an extra in this world, if you really are an extra in your work place and you can ACCEPT this fact? Then I'm sure you will be happier. It may even make you appreciate what you have right in front of you more too. With that said, don't forget to push yourself once in a while in case you DO land your spot as a bigger role in the future too, balance it out.

To finish my sermon off, I will throw in another mini story to show that its not only money and work force related, I had a friend who had a healthy family, but unfortunately the father one day decided his great loving family was not enough, so he left the family like a boss and lived with another woman. This shocked everyone that knew him, because he was always seen as a very kind man, he was polite, he worked hard and he was the living example of a perfect family man, so why did he throw it all away? Why sacrifice a perfect family? Because he thinks he's James Bond, sure he had worked hard to get to where he is today, but he soon realise that having a family is not what he really wanted after all, he wanted more, he wanted other women, he knew he was not put on earth to be a Family Man, he was put on earth to be 007, and he got it. But that in turn made his ex wife and kids hate him. So if you are one of those people who strive to take the role as the main character, please make sure that while you are on your quest of doing so, you don't hurt others around you.

So that's it, don't be ashamed of being an extra, but still strive to be a main character once in a while, and most importantly appreciate what you have. Amen.




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