The difference between Awesome and Good

I once had a friend who vowed to be an "awesome influence" on me; and that our mutual friend would be my "good influence." I didn't quite understand the difference. However, now, after 3 years I'm beginning to understand. Obviously this is just my opinion and you, gentle reader, can take it or leave it. I'm not here to choose for you, that would make us both less awesome.

What is "good"?
For me, the word good imposes rules on me that I would much rather disregard. In other words, the rules; or set of moral values that the word good implies tend to generalize a certain morality to a group or culture. It is a set of rules that I can't change, and if i choose not to follow them then i cannot and will not "shine in society" as my Grandma would say. Silly story- My Mema (aforementioned Grandma) once tried to school me on the rules of wiping my face after a meal. Her lesson consisted of me holding a napkin to my lips, moving it somewhat in the fashion of a begging seal, smiling with pursed lips and then delicately placing the napkin back into my lap. " do this or you won't shine in society." (I was 8 at the time) I tried to explain to her that shining in society was not my goal and was met with criticism.- This has always been my problem with the word good, the concept of political correctness, and social norms. In essence the word good, forces me to conform to the "standard" definition of the word. Thereby limiting everything about me that is me because of an ingrained fear that what I do might not be considered "good" and then someone somewhere might judge me harshly for it.

Awesome on the other hand, is not limiting at all. I can be awesome however I want to be and therefore happier because of it. People might not like my newly found liberty, but that is because they are too worried about being "good." If I decide that I want to stay up really late to see if I can consume an entire pound of bacon grease, then by God- I will.  Is this a "good" decision.. hell no. But an awesome one indeed. The awesome thing to do is based on each individuals personal set of scruples. Being awesome involves not only standing out from the crowd, but doing so proudly. So often we are asked to accept that "that's the way it is" and there is nothing we can do to change it.  But all individuals can and should strive to change the world, to revolutionize the way that humans think about problems and to actively strive to make the world a more enjoyable place to live in.  It's really easy to do things just because that is they way they are done.. but isn't that the same as jumping off the bridge just because someone else did?

In order to be awesome, all you have to do is realize that you already are awesome. Every single person is awesome, and has the potential to inspire other people to be just as awesome. So instead of actively suppressing your inner awesome, give yourself permission to be your best you. Whatever that means.

Josh

P.S. Blogging is going to be fun.