Before you read my post, have you seen my guest post over on MamaPop, where I talk about Calvin Klein and pose for scantily clad photos?
Click the image to go check it out. Comments/stumbles are appreciated!
This is Day 5 of the 30 Days of Truth series. (Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4).
What is something I hope to do in my life?
I have many aspirations and goals in my life. I’d like to retire, to earn a million dollars, to have a family, to learn how to sing, learn how to dance, own my own movie theater, produce a movie, write a book, write a comic book, reach my goal weight, meet a President, travel the world, do stand-up comedy, outlive Lindsay Lohan, appear on TV, meet a personal hero, mentor, teach, fly, have super-speed, and many more. But all of these dreams pale in comparison to the one thing I hope to do in my life:
I want to leave my mark.
I understand that over time, everything crumbles. Over millennia, the names of our greatest minds will be lost, from Einstein to Newton to Picasso to Shakespeare. It’s the fact, though, that they have persisted so long, that interests me.
I know I’m not a genius in any sense of the word. Well, except when you look purely at the IQ level sense, but that doesn’t really mean anything. I will never invent something that will revolutionize society or write the novel of my generation.
But maybe, just maybe, I can still make a mark that will last well beyond my death. (Unless I can figure out this whole immortality thing.) Maybe my words will make people laugh for many years. Maybe my lack of shame will keep the “Avitable” name on the lips of future generations.
All I know is what I know how to do, so I will continue to do that for as long as I can, as well as I can, and hope that someday, someone else will look back and remember it.
Enjoy this post? Try these:30 Days of Truth Day 6: I Hope I Never
30 Days of Truth Day 10: Who do I need to let go?
30 Days of Truth Day 15 – Something/someone I can’t live without
From you that sounds dirty.
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@Superjules, I can make anything sound dirty!
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Twitter: themuskrat
says:
Don’t you think you’ve earned a million bucks when you add up the past decade of working? Or does it have to be your net worth? I’m trying to help here…I assume you’ve reached one goal already.
Also, some of the images you’ve created on this site have been burned into our brains forever, effectively leaving their “mark.” So, mission accomplished.
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@Muskrat, yeah, I have, so you’re right. I think I want a net worth of at least a million.
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Perhaps you’ll be known as the man who made toenail polish THE symbol of masculinity. Or open the Avitable School for the Sexy-Eyebrow Raising Impaired. Hell, you’re already interviewing dead celebrities, there’s got to be some notoriety for that!
So many possibilities…
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@SisterMerryHellish, I’ve got my balls in a lot of pots. Or however that saying goes.
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That was one sexy ass pose for clavin klein. Way to go, Adam!
I will remember you as the guy I looked forward to reading his blogs to brighten my day and give a laugh! Keep it up!!!
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@hpflo, thanks.
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If you kill Lindsay Lohan then you can leave your mark, outlive Lindsay Lohan, and appear on TV all at once. If you’re lucky then a movie of the week will be made about the Avitable story and the awful prison food will help you achieve your goal weight. So that’s five things right there. You’re welcome.
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Twitter: aeronmckie
, October 6th, 2010: 12:52 PM
@Grant, Awesome.
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@Grant, this is why I keep you around. You’re like my muse.
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Twitter: hellohahanarf
says:
you already left your mark. on the library floor when you were a kid and got caught masturbating.
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@hello haha narf, that mark was probably removed when they cleaned the carpet.
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Twitter: MrsLoulou
says:
You will be remembered.
You will outlive Lohan.
And if you ever own your own movie theatre, promise me free popcorn with butter for life?
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@Loukia, it’s a deal.
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Your balls are burned into my memory – now THAT’S a mark!
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@Sybil Law, are you sure? Maybe I should send them to you again.
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Twitter: msbatman
says:
I’m with Muskrat, you’ve left your mark already. Some of us are in therapy dealing with it. Thanks for that.
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@Becky, therapy might erase my mark!
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Twitter: tlkaply
says:
I believe that I leave my mark in my relationships with the people in my life. As the poet said A man lives on until his name is no longer spoken.
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@Tracy Lynn, so how do you keep your name spoken forever?
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Twitter: aeronmckie
says:
The simple fact that people can see something or hear something and immediately think of you, means you’re leaving your mark everyday. Thanks for peeing on my hydrant.
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@Aeron, that’s a good point.
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Once you reach that family goal you will have made your mark through your children – the best legacy anyone can leave if they’re well-raised.
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@Mrs RW, I know, that’s one way.
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Twitter: ellemmes
says:
I don’t think you’re going to have a problem with outliving Lindsey Lohan. She appears to be modeling her life after River Phoenix.
I think you’re leaving your mark. You’re definitely unforgettable!
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@Lisa, I’m working on it.
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Twitter: poppycede
says:
It’s sad to me that the 4 great people who came to your mind were all men.
I perhaps would have done the same.
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Twitter: Faiqa
, October 6th, 2010: 10:41 PM
@Poppy, Oh, how I *WISH* I had caught that… and I would not have taken the high road like you did…
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@Faiqa, I had to reply to you here, but you’re missing my point. I’m not saying that women haven’t contributed to the world at all. I’m saying that history has reduced their contributions and that their names don’t have the same resonance as the names of men in history.
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Twitter: Faiqa
, October 7th, 2010: 1:35 PM
@Avitable, Mmmhmmm, resonance to WHOM? NBo, but, come on, you’re right, Gandhi has waaay more resonance than the Virgin Mary. Cough.
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@Faiqa, as far as leaving a mark on the world? Yes. She’s a quasi-fictional character. That’s like comparing Sherlock Holmes and Gandhi.
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Twitter: Faiqa
, October 7th, 2010: 2:10 PM
@Avitable, Mary was real, infidel. FINE. Okay, how about Cleopatra, Queen Victoria or Queen Elizabeth I? And even Amelia Earhart… I’d say she resonates as well as Lindbergh. I think you’re skimming over how much of your personal perspective colors whether these women “resonate” or not. The fact is that you chose men in your example above because you buy into the overarching belief that women, even the ones like Elizabeth, Victoria or Cleopatra who expanded their nation’s influence to dominate half of the world, don’t carry the same amount of literary weight in terms of “making your mark”. We will ignore the masculine undertones of “making one’s mark” in favor of brevity, btw.
The fact is your words imply that you buy into the idea that they weren’t as important or notable and you’re basing that simply on the fact that they’re women. That, my friend, is sexist. I propose these women were both notable and resonant. They just don’t resonate to YOU because you associate masculinity with making one’s mark.
Also, let us not forget that Elizabeth I shows up in 3 modern movies that I’ve seen, as I recall, whereas Shakespeare is only in one. And in the one that had Shakespeare, Elizabeth bossed him around.
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@Faiqa, Queen Elizabeth might be a name that people will remember over the passage of time. I think those women are just as important. I also realize that they’re not as well-known as they should be. Victoria? Nobody knows who the fuck Victoria is. And neither Amelia Earheart nor Lindbergh will be remembered in another 50 years.
Let’s take the average world citizen, of age 18, and ask them to name 10 people from history. I wonder how many of them would be women.
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Twitter: Faiqa
, October 7th, 2010: 2:27 PM
@Avitable, Ohhhh, so now we care what the average world citizen thinks and knows… how convenient for your argument.
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@Faiqa, that’s the whole point of this. Leaving a mark doesn’t mean that historians and eggheads remember you. It means that the average knucklehead has a poster of you on his wall.
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@Poppy, since women’s contributions were overlooked back then, it doesn’t surprise me that they’re all men’s names. That will change with time, though.
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Twitter: poppycede
, October 7th, 2010: 9:33 AM
@Avitable, you put no context other than “over millenia” which would imply the more present time is inclusive. So, you’re just busted.
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@Poppy, the more present time is included, but I didn’t mention any men from the present time either. It’s hard to see who’s going to leave their mark unless it’s been at least several decades.
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Twitter: poppycede
, October 7th, 2010: 9:41 AM
@Avitable, fine, then Marie Curie. FOR EXAMPLE.
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@Poppy, yeah, she made a valuable contribution, but not someone that will necessarily withstand the test of time. Even Newton will eventually get lost, I think. How many kids today do you think know who Marie Curie is?
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Twitter: poppycede
, October 7th, 2010: 9:46 AM
@Avitable, you are not capable of saying “I was wrong” in a public forum, are you.
Are you saying that a chemist and physicist who won a Nobel prize and who is taught in every school doesn’t deserve mention along with the boys? We’re not even specifically talking about Marie Curie. We’re talking about you saying that there are no women of note who lived until 1973 when PICASSO DIED. Do you understand how recent these people existed?
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@Poppy, I’m not wrong. I’m not talking about “women of note”. I’m talking about people who made marks that are essentially eternal.
And 100 years from now, I hope that Marie Curie and Frida Kahlo and women like that will be remembered, but I doubt it.
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Twitter: poppycede
, October 7th, 2010: 9:52 AM
@Avitable, I am offended and will not continue to discuss this with you. Someone else who sees what I see can take over. I refuse to be oppressed further by your words.
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@Poppy, heh.
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Twitter: Faiqa
, October 7th, 2010: 1:29 PM
@Avitable, So, the woman who gave birth to Jesus, also known as the Virgin Mary was not a person of note? Interesting.
Also:
Cleopatra
Queen Esther
Sacagawea
Abigail Adams
Betsy Ross
Queen Elizabeth I
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Tubman
Ann Frank
Indira Ghandi
Clara Barton
Eleanor Roosevelt
Gloria Steinem
Amelia Earhart
It is not that they’re absent from history or that they didn’t make their mark… it’s that certain people who read history choose to diminish their notability. And yet, if it weren’t for Queen Elizabeth I, we might not have fucking had British Imperialism. I think 2/3 of the world would argue that this was one notable bitch.
You are so damned wrong on this it is not even funny. I mean, really. NOT funny. You’re not cool when you’re doped up on Nyquil, dude.
Twitter: Faiqa
says:
I’m sorry, but I LMAO when I read “I want to leave my mark.” Because, you know, all I could think of was you peeing…
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@Faiqa, you’re the one with the mind in the gutter, not me!
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Twitter: sweetney
says:
Your bravery is something to aspire to… Would love to do this truthiness, but does it have to be done in 30 consecutive days? Cause, well, GAH.
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@sweetney, I’m only doing it when I need a prompt to write. Maybe once a week or so.
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Twitter: mapsgirl
says:
You say you want to leave your mark in the same post that links to pictures of you in underwear that emphases your package. If you didn’t clarify that kind of mark you wanted to leave, I might have said it was a success.
I read thru the “lack of women” comments and I do get their point, but for a man choosing to make his mark it kinda makes sense for you to associate yourself with prominent men. If you were a woman, I would think that you’d choose women to mirror yourself after.
In the end, this is your blog and your opinions. And an opinion is just that…an opinion, it’s not right or wrong.
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@mapsgirl, yeah, I think you make a good point.
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In ancient Greece there was a guy called Herostratos, who burnt down the Temple of Artemis (one of the 7 wonders of the world) to achieve immortality, reasoning that his name would forever be remembered for this act. Authorities tried to prevent that by forbidding to mention his name ever again, but failed. Obviously. Think about it…
(I have never heard of a similar legend involving a woman. Either they’re not that destructive or they’re not remembered for it.)
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@Katharina, so you’re saying I should burn some shit up? Consider it done!
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