THE RAMBLINGS OF A WANNABE LEGEND

The Ramblings of A Wannabe Legend: Cheers to The Death of Comparison

That’s right, I confess, I’m a wannabe! (and I don’t *just* mean a spice girls superfan). My whole life I have strived to be something that people would describe as a LEGEND, and it is with great pride that I say, I have completely failed at this... What?

It’s not everyday you see someone proud that they have failed at the one thing they want to be. And no, it’s not because I feel I tried my best regardless of the outcome. It’s because for the whole time I was aiming for the big target that said ‘Legend’ on it, the even bigger target that said ‘Child of God’ was right behind me.

When I first moved into high school in 2014, I picked up a very bad habit (and I don’t mean biting my nails… though I confess I do that aswell). I developed the ability to compare myself, to anyone, in any moment, without fail. It wasn’t until year 11, in Mrs. Fatur’s English class, when she said “comparison is the thief of joy”, did I realise that maybe, my habit of comparison was not serving me well enough. You see, every time I was aiming for the target of legendary, a gust of comparison would come, and blow my arrow over to the target of self-pity. Comparison was the thief of my joy, and my aiming for the status of legend was misdirected.

I was the character of Punchinello in Max Lucado’s book ‘You Are Special’, striving for yellow stars, but only getting grey dots because I wasn’t the best at maths, or I wasn’t the greatest guitar player ever. In fact, the only thing I was the best at was comparison… yay.

But, Mrs. Fatur's (I think I can call her Aisha by now) re-quote made me realise what Lucado meant when he said “the stickers only stick if they matter to you”. The truth was, I didn’t need any of the stickers. I didn’t need the good laughs I got from a killer joke or the bad laughs I got from falling over trying to kick a ball. All I needed was to turn around. To stop aiming for ‘Legend’, and start aiming for ‘Child of God’.

When I began to do this, no longer did I fear the thief of joy. My aim became more precise, and it certainly helped that I was aiming for the right target. 

I stand proudly today claiming that I am no legend of the earthly sense, I have failed, but it doesn’t matter, because I am a Child of God. ‘Not by works alone, so that no one can boast’ (Ephesians 2:9).