Perception VS Reality

It seems every 10 years marks an anniversary for some.  We get together as adults and celebrate who we used to be and what we have become. We embellish our lives and scoreboard one another on perception and rumours.  The line between the popular and the unpopular has been erased and all that's left is life.  Yes you guessed it. It's the High School Class Reunion.  Personally I enjoy them.  I always enjoy people's reactions when I tell them who I am because I look nothing like I did in High School.  I will say social media has taken a little of the surprise away. Friends and classmates can keep in touch and with all the photos they recognize you instantly.  I enjoy when folks talk about their successes. I love the genuine and those that really enjoy seeing you. For me its always a little weird though because I wasn't that popular in High School.  I always tell Cynthia my best friends were the janitor and the lunch lady.  Seriously it wasn't as bad as that but I wasn't in the athletic program because I was all of 120 pounds throughout high school. When people meet me for the first time because of my size today they just assume I played football. I wasn't smart enough for the Honor Society. I just kind of kept to myself and the few friends I had.  So you get together and exchange "how have you been" and then it seems to always go back to what you do for a living. Everyone wants to know what you have become. That is how we measure our successes and failures, our occupation. Joe Blow has his own business and is doing great. That's what we hear. Facebook paints a great picture of Joe Blow and then you see him. The lines on his face tell a different story. Joe Blow has been married 5 times and suffered from drug addiction.  Then there are those that seem to have never left high school. They still see the imaginary line separating the popular and unpopular. You wonder why people who never really took the time to get to know you can dislike you or just totally act like you do not exist.  For me it really doesn't matter. I am happy with my life. I got to follow a dream for awhile and it was greatness. I got to hob knob with celebrities and and heard my voice on the FM radio dial. I got to hang out backstage with Def Leppard, Tanya Tucker, Clint Black and Josh Turner. I also
got to interview a lot of 70's and 80's artist that I grew up listening to. I got to bring big names on stage and enjoy free concerts. I had crowds of people that wanted to meet me anytime the station was out on remote.  See that we can all scoreboard one another. My career and life is better than yours. That Is what we try to project to others. The truth is none of that matters. The only thing that matters is this. Are you happy with who you are?  It's not about what others perceive. I can tell you this, people perceive Radio personalities as being wealthy.  That may be true for a few but that's not the normal. Most that are a part of it struggle financially because they are sure the right opportunity will come along.  They stick it out because they love it because the money is not there. Then there are those that are forced out due to station cutbacks. For every cool thing Radio is, it is a cutthroat industry leaving a sea of broken dreams in its wake. You see now what I mean about perception.  Sometimes we want everyone to see all the good stuff and keep the rest buried.
The truth is I spent a lot of years chasing a dream that probably wasn't worth chasing financially, at least for me.  I struggled financially for years trying to fit every job I had around my part time Radio gig, that was what mattered. My marriage was failing so I did not care if I was at home or not.  You see once again you can paint a great successful picture of yourself but seriously it isn't always totally true. My point is before you form an opinion of someone try getting to know them. What makes them tick?  Don't form your opinion on what you see on Social Media.  I love social media for how it allows us to keep in touch and plan events. What I hate it for is the perception it puts out there.  The reality now is my life is somewhat great but not because of my career. It's because of who I allow in it.  It's because I chose love and not negativity. It because I get to come home to a house full of love. To me that is what matters the most.  That's reality.