The One with Pettyness

Dear Readers,

I love love love Tom Petty. My subject today is a double entendre. One of my favorite movies is "Elizabethtown." In that movie there are two of my favorite Tom Petty songs, "Learning to Fly" and "Square One." This summer, I am learning to fly without wings. I have nothing now which also means I have nothing to lose. I have lost everything that mattered to me. Everything I loved. Everything that made me feel special. Everything that gave me hope for a future.

I believe in second chances. I believe in a hundred chances. I believe people can change for the better. That is where "Square One" comes in. My slate is clear. It took a world of trouble, it took a world of tears, it took a long time to get back here. I deserve a clean slate and second chances.

Which brings me to the other meaning, pettiness. Petty means "having little or no importance or consequence." It can also mean "showing or caused by meanness of spirit." Acting petty is a waste of time. It is meaningless. All it does is hurt and destroy people.

In "Elizabethtown" there is a family feud that has literally gone on for decades all because people cannot overcome their own stubborn and petty nature. My mother told me to never go to bed angry. It says that in the Bible too. I no longer go to bed angry let alone for weeks on end. It accomplishes nothing.

But I digress, in the movie, Susan Sarandon speaks at her husband's funeral and what she says stops everyone in their tracks and makes them realize how stupid each of them has been for so long. She says, "We were complete opposites, and it worked...The plan was to send my son to represent the family. I was terrified that you would look at me and see that woman from California who took him away...even though we only lived in California for 18 months, 27 years ago..." After that, the room was silent. And people just sat around the room looking taken aback and ashamed.

You may have noticed that I put up many song and movie quotes. That is because I truly feel we have a lot to learn from these experiences. After all, songs and movies are based on experiences people gain from real life.

Self discovery is very important. But what good will it do if you have no one to share it with?

-Katie Starlet