Trial, with Error

An argument for being chalant and embarrassing yourself

I.e. the merit of embracing the cringe.

I’m actually a big fan of Timothée Chalamet. I add the ‘actually’ because I feel like, at least in my circles, it’s not quite ‘in vogue’ to fan over him.

I enjoyed his performance in A Complete Unknown. In Dune and Willy Wonka. Lady Bird, as well.

Last night (2/23), as he accepted his SAG Award, he gave the following speech:

“… but the truth is, I’m really in pursuit of greatness.” — Timothée Chalamet

How cringe. So cringe that in fact I may have gotten a few goosebumps watching it back.

Corollary:

Nonchalance used to be aspirational. Now it’s lame. Thank God.

We’ve lost effort in the pursuit of effortlessness. The goal is to be so good that things only seem effortless.

When I first moved to this city, I spent the greater part of my first two years under the guise of looking effortless. Looking back, I realize how limiting that is.

And I think I’m still in the process of completing that turnaround. I can’t tell you the number of creative projects that I’ve started and haven’t pushed forward, in fear of it being ‘embarrassingly incomplete.’

While there’s certainly merit to having a ‘complete’ project, I think progress is better than perfection. I forget that (or even ignore it) a lot.

So my question to you is what are you willing to be embarrassed for? Is it worth being seen making an effort?

@etymologynerda reckful and sensical analysis #etymology #linguistics #language

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