Mais C´e´tait une expe´rience


In the chaos of my life in which I affectionately call “The Brandcenter” I managed to squeeze in the time to watch the movie Six Degrees of Separation. I must admit I was more intrigued with the concept of unifying the world through a theory of mathematics and probability then I was with the actual story line, but as the film ended I found myself captivated by Stockard Channing's closing performance. Her closing monologue was delivered with such passion and emotion, it was breathtaking. I’ve heard her performance of the Broadway rendition was absolutely exceptional and judging from her showing on screen I can see why she is regarded as one of the top thespians of our time.

But it was here that lied the most memorable part of the movie, Channing’s closing plight. The fact that she loathes the idea of turning our lives into some sort of anecdote. She questions how do we keep the experiences of life? How do we keep what happens to use and how do we fit it into our lives without turning them into anecdotes?

As I listened to her deliver that final soliloquy I wondered if I too would take this time, this chaotic period of graduate school, and turn it into an anecdote. I wondered as time went by would I eventually lose the essences of this experience? The late nights, the euphoric sense of creative freedom, and the mass hysteria that characterized the week before a project was due? Would theses memories eventually slip through the cracks of my mind and be replaced with a generic “ We had some crazy times in grad school” anecdote?

Honestly, I don’t know. But what I do is that this period has been the most fascinating time of my life and yet, somehow I feel that it too will eventually become a distant memory. Just a quick story I’ll use to relate with friends over a diner party or as an opening for polite conversation among strangers. But Channing was right, our lives are more than just anecdotes their experiences.

So, how do we hold onto our experiences? I haven’t quit figured that out yet. But in searching for a clip to include with this post I stumbled upon one of the best responses I’ve heard thus far, and though it may not be the quintessential answer I think it makes for a compelling solution. And so I’ll leave you simply with his answer.

Hold onto the experience. With both hands. It'll slip away eventually, but you'll have it for a few seconds longer. Hold on, because it's worth more than anything you posses. Hold on, and keep it, because it will keep you.