I'm
sitting here thinking of 1984. I can smell it: hairspray (Gen X was
solely responsible for the hole in the ozone layer, I contend), Marlboro
cigarettes and other things that have a grassy, smoky aroma, Jordache
perfume, diesel fuel. It is my own warrant to speak of this time,
and let me tell you, I do and often. After reading "Tesla Matters
(Dude)" all I can think of is this: what are our warrants? How do we
utilize them in our writing? Do they put folks off? Draw them in?
When, and in what kind of writing, do we use them?
I
would contend nonfiction deems them critical to the power of our
message. Let me prove this: how often have you been reading along,
innocently accepting the message (or maybe trepidatiously) when BAM.
There it is. A cultural misstep. That is NOT what Reagan said, or
Clinton, or Bush--the timeline is totally off--no one would have worn
those shoes then . . .
(Yep, I totally just used all of the devices we talked about today.)
A
professor I had once upon a time (her name was mentioned in class this
afternoon) taught me something like this once. It went something
like: never break the suspension of disbelief with your audience. You
lose them. Badly.
You
know the moment. You read the book. And then? There it is, the
popcorn halfway up to your mouth, your feet jauntily hooked onto the
chair in front of you, and there it is. Bastards. Sophie (The Da Vinci
Code) has a brother? What the? That was not in the book. You
look around, expecting riotous indignation from your fellow
moviegoers. Nothing. Yet you have psychically left the building.
Over and out. Suspension? Nope. Disbelief? Yep. The rest is
just, well, garbage. I am personally still bitter about every single
Stephen-King-book-turned-movie I have ever seen. (One of the only
screenplays he has written is Maximum Overdrive. The others were Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. Stellar.)
No
warrant. You can't come in. That is our right as readers, though, I
believe. To refuse entry when we call qualitative bullshit.
And
yes. I have cursed more than once in this blog. Why? Because I am
about to use a warrant, and there is no way you would buy me if I came
off as a pretentious, ivy-league prof.
It
was 1984 and the Cradle Will Rock tour hit hard, right on the heels
of the Back in Black tour (AC/DC, folks). I had no intention of ever
working for "the man" and had even less intention of staying
chemically lucid for more than, well, five or ten minutes. The
t-shirt was black and had SEX DRUGS AND ROCK AND ROLL emblazoned
across the front, and it was about two years before most of us had
even heard the word "aids." And I was ruuunnning. (Little
Forest Gump for you there.) Smart kid, lost, angry, scared, with a
serious Peter Pan complex and no vision of my thirties. Kids like
yourselves made no sense to me. How did they study and mind and cut
their hair and eat their Wheaties? No way, man. Sunlight hurt my eyes
and Walt Disney was blasphemy to my soul. Purposefully, vehemently, I
threw away my childhood when I threw up my lighter to David Lee Rothe
in crimson spandex. Part of me is still back there, waiting for the
lights to come up and force me out into the street. Strangely, all
the songs and all the bands and all the beer-soaked nights add up to
this one moment in my teenage wasteland:
And when some local kid gets down
They try an' drum him outta town
They say, "Ya coulda least faked it, boy"
Fake it, boy (Ooh, stranger, boy)
At an early age he hits the street
Winds up tied with who he meets
An' he's unemployed--his folks are overjoyed.
They try an' drum him outta town
They say, "Ya coulda least faked it, boy"
Fake it, boy (Ooh, stranger, boy)
At an early age he hits the street
Winds up tied with who he meets
An' he's unemployed--his folks are overjoyed.
But
here I am, Dr. PD, thirty years later, talking about warrants. I
suppose I could have just "faked it," but I think I learned the regret
of that decades ago.
And
so. I begin sentences with and. And do a lot of ---- stuff like
that. Proper English? Um, no. But it's in line with the signature on
my warrant. I wonder, do we ever know the voice in our heads without
examining the paperwork . . .
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI utilize my warrants in my writing as often as i can. Whether its about that place i lived for so long, or something everyday like eating and working out. But then again, we all hold warrants over others, don't we?
ReplyDeleteEvery person ever can say that they lay claim to something because of their experience and knowledge about it. What happens when someone with more experience and knowledge steps up to the plate? What if you fail to strike that person out and they hit a home run? Are you out of the game?...nah. But that other person did win.
What now? Well nothing really, because you still hold that warrant over others and can exercise it as much as you want, until you meet another player who could be better.
Blah blah blah. I guess ill just lay claim to my warrants instead of rambling. Israel. I lived their for nearly eight years. Talk to me about it, I love educating and reminiscing. Food? Hell yeah I love it! And i can talk about it alll daay...just not too much about the cooking part. And working out. A broad topic, but i can give you sets and tips for days. A trainer might scoff at them, and then ask you for your money...
I have warrants just like everyone else, and for ever warrant i have, there is someone who has a better one. Whatever, just talk to me some time.
Screw warrants.
ReplyDeleteI have the right to write on whatever I want.
You, as the reader, also have the right to not read whatever I write.
Unless you are forced to write a paper on a certain topic, most people would write about what they are passionate about, what they like.
I never lived through the Enlightenment and as Dr. PD said, ill never know what the air smelled like. But by reading Descartes, Kant, Rousseau, and Paine, I can get a sense of what the thoughts in the Enlightenment era smelled like. And at the end, isnt it the thought that lasts longer than just a experience?
Its like saying I have no rights to playing jazz music because I didnt live in the 1800's
Its utter crap.
The idea of a warrant itself puts a limit on creativity and freedom.
And writing is an art of expression and putting a limit on that sounds a little... bleh
So i still think that warrants are not necessary, so here i say it one more time----screw warrants
Warrants are important. Just like how a middle-aged policeman can show a warrant and have access to all the cold, hard evidence left behind in a criminal's dingy residence, we use warrants to gain access into other people's lives. By finding out someone's warrant in a particular area, we can use that warrant to keep looking deeper within that person. We are now a part of their life, and we want to know more. We can use the warrant to see the utter depth and importance in a person by getting to know them and their interests. Just like in real life, our personality warrants give people an opportunity to keep searching within us, or for them to see what they see and leave. Isn't that cool?
ReplyDeleteWarrants are important. People I come into contact with that have warrants for the same things as me search me for more similarities and more evidence that we have things in common. Warrants let you know people, and search them for coincidences of interests that agree with your own. You have warrants of your own, and so does everyone else. You show people your warrants to gain access to them by establishing a common interest and common ground.
I've never thought about warrants this way, and I think it makes more sense to me now. It's not only important to know your warrants and show them to others before they will let you know them, but it's equally important to look at other people's warrants before you let them search through yours. Warrants are interesting things.
An interesting question:how does one acquire a warrant? What warrants a warrant? If I go white water rafting, I can say I have a warrant over those who have not gone because I have first hand experience! But then why did I go white water rafting? Was it really my warrant? Surely it was not my idea to go white water rafting, rather it was the idea imbedded in my mind by the white water rafting instructor on the television commercial I saw earlier. But then what was his warrant? Surely he did not invent white water rafting! He simply took the idea from another source. A warrant, then, is nothing more than a shared perception of individuality, an illusion of our desire to standout from a crowd. I can do this, I can do that! YAY!!! GOOD FOR YOU!!! Its the same as all that political correctness. "Everyone is a winner!" Bullshit! My dad and I worked for weeks on a pinewood derby car and you know what? It blew the hell out of everyone else's. I got first place every race! Then, when the award ceremony came along guess who won? EVERYONE! I deserved a trophy! They didn't! It's like how every kid at a soccer tournament gets a trophy, even the losers. (Yeah, I said it; losers. Shoot me.) Someone HAS to win! Someone has to be different, and we know that! So we invented warrants; a way to express of individuality by saying that everyone has one. Not everyone has warrants. I can't just say I have a warrant over white water rafting because I have been once, it takes time to have a warrant, it takes practice. That is a true warrant, not just doing something but excelling in it!
ReplyDeleteWarrants are important. We use them all the time because they are our credibility- our right to write (or talk) about a topic. A person who grew up in 60's has the right to talk about the Beatles and early fast food and what not. The same can go for someone who has studied art all their life. They have more credibility on the topic of art than someone who has never studied art. Warrants are what you know best; they are what you've felt, seen, heard, smelt, tasted, and thought about a certain topic or era by LIVING during that era or studying that topic.
ReplyDeleteSo what are my warrants? As much as I LIKE the 70's, i can't say its my warrant because, well, I didn't live during the time. Just because I enjoy something, it doesn't mean its my warrant. It has to be something I know, and know well.
I'd say the past decade is one of my biggest warrants (in respect to future generations). Biology and history may be another, though there will always be someone who knows more about the topic than I do. These are but a few of my warrants. Everyone has at least one, just think about it: what do you know best?
So what are your warrants?
I have two warrants: soccer and movies. I have been playing soccer since I was five and through injury and hard times I have continued to play and be around it. I have been to soccer camps and professional soccer games. I know the sport backwards and forwards and it is my favorite out of all the other sports. When people, who have never played or have never seen a game, talk about how easy it is or how boring it is, it makes me want to scream because of their ignorance. And now I have come to realize it is because they don’t have a warrant. They have no right to talk about it like they know anything about it. I have the warrant. My other passion is movies. I have been watching movies since the day I was born. My mother has always taught me different things about all sorts of movies. When I was in preschool, we had a movie day and I wanted to bring in Elvis Presley’s Viva Las Vegas. My mom wouldn’t let me. She said that other kids my age were not up to date with all of the movies yet. I was ahead of the curve. My head is filled with useless information about movies. I can name the movie, some actors who starred in it, the director, the year it was made, and a fun fact about it. I love the movies. I definitely have a warrant for the movies.
ReplyDeleteThe smell of salt water as it greets the rocks like old friends, like low tide was an unbearable summer two lovers spent apart.
ReplyDeleteThe beauty in the hundreds of shades of grey that cover a shore than has seen more years than can be calculated in a lab and more sunset walks than can be written in romantic literature.
The love of a sea otter mother, as it cradles its baby on its stomach, drifting through the kelp beds, never leaving its side.
The difference in the way a tear looks and the way a drop of sweat looks glistening off the newly waxed floor.
That weird sound that rubber makes when rapidly hitting the polyurethane of a gym floor and the way your fist feels when it slams into it in fury.
The way it takes one look at a teammate to know you have lost, and that dryness that overtakes your mouth when it finally hits you, too.
The limp ache of your muscles when victory is finally declared.
The strong grip of my grandmother's hand as she grips mine to congratulate me on beating her in euchre.
The rum and Cokes my mom always makes for the sunset competition.
The way the cards feel between my fingers when I know I have a winning hand, and the fear that creeps up my neck when my uncle says he's going alone.
Who else knows these things? Who else has these experiences? Who else can say that these things are their warrants? No one. They are uniquely mine, and they define me. They are a part of me. In everything that I do, I carry these warrants, and I have a warrant to that.
What gives you the warrant to talk about something?
ReplyDeleteIs it the experience?
Because if that were the case, I would have the right to talk about Auburn. Not just the University, but the city. And I don't know if I truly do.
You would think that living somewhere for any amount of time would give you a warrant to talk about it. However, I've lived as a student. I can tell you all about living in Leischuck Hall. I can tell you the ins and outs of the student center or about the maze that we lovingly refer to as the Haley Center. I can tell you my favorite places to eat, how to get to RO, what it feels like to roll Toomers Corner, and how good the ice cream sandwiches are at the little drugstore that sits happily on the corner of College and Magnolia.
I have a warrant to talk about those things, because that is what I have lived. The streets I've walked day after day for the past eight months.
However, does that really give me a warrant to talk about the town of Auburn? I don't know what it's like to grow up here.. to live with my family... to walk through the halls of a high school and search for things to do on Friday nights. I don't have much detail on what lies on the outskirts of the little town I've grown to love. I think all I can tell you is that the people are southern and sweet. And that there isn't much to do. And that on Saturdays in the fall, everyone in sight is wearing orange and navy.
But if it isn't the experience... well then, what is it? Time? Repetition? Complete immersion?
A warrant is an interesting thing; interesting because I can talk about anything as if I have a warrant... but that doesn't mean people are going to respect my opinion on it. There's simply so much more to find out, to witness, to understand before I can say I completely say that I have a warrant to talk about something... something like the town of Auburn.
Charlotte, NC, on the other hand... I can talk to you about that one all day. I guess that's what happens when you've lived somewhere your whole life.
So can one only have a warrant if they write about something they have seen or experienced in person? Sure I never lived in the 80s to personally see Bo Jackson run over opponents while he was at Auburn, but I can tell you about his best games and what happened in those games. Honestly I think anyone can have a warrant if they have researched the topic they are talking about. I mean I just wrote a research paper on the Beatles for crying out loud. By definition I don't have a warrant to talk about them because I never went to a concert to see them in person, but I did find a quote from a girl that saw them in concert. This gave my argument credibility because I had evidence of how the Beatles impacted their generation. After stating this I think I have a warrant for anything I have clearly researched. Even people that lived during 80s may not be able to talk about all of the achievements Bo Jackson accomplished as well as I could. But hey, what do I know? I only just a lazy ole college student.
ReplyDeleteA warrant is all about sincere truth, and keeping your reader's/listener's respect and attention. For the audience to be on the brink of disbelief... but only because you are introducing a new experience and idea to the audience... they don't know what to think of it. But because you are genuine and true, the audience is considering your opinion and thoughts. But if you are talking or writing about something you haven't done your research on (hint hint: first hand experienced), the audience won't believe you. And they shouldn't!
ReplyDeleteThis sincerity of character and experience is what changes the world. Even the little things. Yeah, we can all think of some famous celebrity... like Paul McCartney... and know his warrant and how his warrant and passion shaped the world. But there are also everyday, little warrants that are often overlooked. Such as the warrant to live and love life. Our warrants to live, to love, to be kind, to be passionate, are all what changes the world for the better. One good deed leads to another...so on and so forth. How miserable would life be if people didn't have warrants? Life is all about gaining warrants, and learning about others individual warrants. This sharing of warrants is what makes the world go 'round. We can't have a warrant over everything, but if we open up and learn from others, we can have a better idea of the world, cultures, events, lifestyles, everything around us!
What's a warrant if you don't use it... nothing. To many people go their writing careers without exercising their warrant. But it's not always their fault. Wanna know why? Sure you do. It's as simple as not being introduced to it. Well, I had never heard of this "warrant" idea until I met Dr.P... Finding out my warrant and learning how to apply it to my writing has been what I call a (game changer). It truly has been. Being able to put together papers by inserting "me" into them has made it more fun of a task... but still a task at that. It's extremely important for use to apply our warrants to our writing. It brings more umph to our papers. They help our audiences stay tuned into what we are saying. If you haven't found your warrant yet, its advised that you do, in order to keep an audience entertained in what your saying. I can't stress how beneficial it will be in the long run.
ReplyDeleteThe application of warrants in our writing is quite unexcusable.
Peace, love, warrant.
Warrants are what we can write about the best, whether that from experience or from something that you have more knowledge in than someone else. Using warrants isn't always as easy as it seems, being able to write about things so personal can be difficult to do. Although for some a warrant just comes with a little research some things you can research, like climbing a mountain and taking in the sight, breathing in the air, these are things you can't read about in a book. Things like this you have to experience to have a real warrant over, otherwise you just are copying someone else's warrant.
ReplyDeleteI suffer from depression. Only three people know this fact about me and everyone else would never suspect it. Most people would think I am the least likely candidate for depression, but I am also very introverted and like to be alone. Not many people understand what suffering is let alone depression or what it means.
ReplyDeleteMoving away from my hometown, a lack of friends and comfort, injury after injury ruining my running career, plus all the inner failures bombarding me led to my demise. Have you ever woken up in the morning and hated life, appalled just by the fact that you woke up. Every day was a struggle for me - everyday I didn’t want to wake up. Hatred filled my veins and failure creped into my mind.
I wasn’t good at anything, and I really thought I was a failure at life. Drugs and alcohol couldn’t mask my pain or sorrows. Like Smokey Robinson sang, “ But don’t let my glad expression/ give you the wrong impression / Really I’m sad, oh sadder than sad / You’re gone and I’m hurting so bad / Like a clown I pretend to be glad.”
I would project myself to the outside world as a happy, regular high schooler, but when I arrived back home I would lock myself in my room and cry myself to sleep.
After about a year of dreaded pain, I finally broke through. With the help of a dairy, daily quotes, and just the lack of tear glands, I stopped feeling bad for myself. That being said, I still go through dark spells about every month where they can range anywhere from a couple hours to a few days. I still go through times of not feeling good enough and it can be a struggle to move on. I no longer cry, I no longer look for physical pain, I’ve been clean for over a year, and now I can live life.
Now after revealing my biggest secret on the Internet, I understand pain and suffering. When people are down I always trying and cheer them up. That is why I enjoy making people laugh, because even though I might not be happy at least I can make someone else happy. Always look to make people happy because you don’t know what they have gone through and how they are feeling. Most people I know don’t understand what I bad day really is. Unless you’ve seriously contemplated suicide, or punched everything in sight so that your knuckles are waterfalls of blood; you’re not having a bad day. I never want anyone to experience what I have gone through, no one deserves that. I try my best to bring joy into people’s day so that stay far away from misery. I understand what feeling worthless is like and it is no fun. If you are ever having a bad day, please feel free to talk to me, I’ll talk to you and make sure to cheer you up.
I had the hardest time figuring out my warrant. I was sure everyone had one- where was mine? I needed some kind of "eureka" moment to come to me and then BAM! i'd know. I'd know what gave me the reason to write and allowed people to believe me.
ReplyDeleteThat moment never came. But whether or not it was blatantly obvious, my warrant was developing and I was becoming a good writer... wait, what?
At the beginning of this semester, I would have called myself a good writer. But now I realize that I had nothing to write about. I had topics, but no feelings. I didn't feel as if I had a reason to write- a reason to back anything up and defend it with everything in me.
So what's my warrant? Maybe it's not a specific one. Maybe it's a story of my growth- of my quest of becoming a writer- of making myself something more than just words being typed. Without a warrant, what kind of writer are you? You're just pretentious- thinking that you have the right to stand up for something that you don't. On the other hand, if you have a warrant and chose not to use it then you're a cop out. There need to be a happy middle. Warrants are absolutely necessary in order to make your writing even worth reading. Something not many people think about, much less act upon. With a warrant, writing suddenly becomes worth it and meaningful.
Using a warrant is definitely one of the most important writing strategies I've learned. Not only does it make my writing more enjoyable for whoever is reading it but also makes me feel empowered while writing it. It makes me feel like I have a voice and I have every right to let that voice be heard.
How perfectly poetic, the beginning is the end and the end is the beginning.
ReplyDeleteBack to warrants, a wide-eyed freshmen looking at the blog, scared. “I don’t think I know what a warrant is? And did the teacher just make a weed reference? Damn, she must be cooler than I think.” That’s probably what went through my head when I read through the first blog.
Here we are at the end of the semester. We have arrived after writing lots of crap, pushing through essays, imaging what our body portrays, and finally, still attempting to figure out what in the hell a warrant is. It’s definitely been a journey but that truly is the destination isn’t it. Looking back I don’t remember the hard ships of the class; instead, it’s the cigarettes after class, the completed papers, the touching moments, and countless words thoughtfully arranged in some order in hopes of creating emotion, you know, that chill that runs down your spine when you read something that’s really from the heart. That’s what I’m going to take out of this class. Writing from the heart and soul. Until this point of my life, my writing has not been very deep. It’s always too educated, to cut and dry, to regular. I never attempted to put any of myself in my essays so they came out looking like something that could have been written by a robot. As far as I am concerned those days are over. I really didn’t enjoy writing those anymore than the professor did reading them. What good is writing if there’s no body, no soul, no emotion. Truly great writers can capture that in their words. That’s what makes readers love a book so much they don’t want to finish it. It’s because they feel something. They feel the love, the loss, the pain, the hurt, the good, the bad - they feel it all. That’s what I want to be able to capture in my words, feeling. When I wrote my paper on Haiti, I did not want to have to describe the way it felt to you I wanted you to be able to feel it. Even If it hurt your heart to read about these kid’s in squalor, a little hurt is good, especially in the kind of lives the majority of us live. It is through this kind of writing we can make a difference. Anyone can regurgitate facts onto a piece a paper, but evoking emotion is much more difficult, and hopefully one day I will be able to truly get the hang of it.
Warrants on the other hand… I feel like I have the right to talk about what I want even if I am talking out my ass. If I’m truly warranted to speak on it though you’ll know, because in order to put true emotion and feeling into something you have to have a warrant. It’s impossible to truly describe loss, love, hate, anything really, if you haven’t felt it for yourself. So wisdom really does come with age. The older I grow the more experiences I have the more warranted I become. Bring it on world, I’m ready…
Thanks again,
Thomas
warrants? nope never heard of it. at least not before this class. thank you! i learned a new word! all i know is that i want a warrant. or do i?
ReplyDeletewhen i read roberts post i about cried. you would never think that such a cheerful person would be hiding such a deep dark feeling that no one can take away.
anyways. i lost both of my grandmothers when i was litte. my moms mom passes away 25 days before i was born. she was so excited to finally meet me but never got the chance. everyone says she would have spoiled me rotten. given me so much chocolate that i would never want anything else. my dads mom passed away when i was 5. i remember that day like it was yesterday. my parents woke me up to tell me the news. i remember waking up wondering why i wasnt in the library because we were going to the library that morning for class. that is the only time i have ever seen my dad cry.
not knowing how it would be like with a grandmother is an experience that i hope no one has to go through. i believe every girl needs her grandmothers. there is just this bond that is so special to me. unfortunately i never got to experience going shopping with my meme or going to get ice cream with my babsy. i would give my arm and 2 fingers to be able to experience that feeling.
i believe people take others for granted. you really dont understand what its like till they are actually gone. but for me i was unborn and 5 years old when my grandmothers passed. i barely remember anything about my babsy. which is very unfortunate. but one day we shall meet again.
somehow i think that is my warrant. dont ask me how but i just got started talking about it and couldnt stop.
I know we are not required to respond to our classmates, but this is a beautiful warrant. I lost all of my grandparents before I even graduated high school. They never got to see what their granddaughter accomplished, and it hurts. But, if you are able to cope with this warrant, I applaud you. I deal with the same - not having a grandparent to call - and it takes a strong individual to deal with these losses. So Chandler, smile. It hurts to not have them here now, but there should be comfort in knowing you will once day see their smiling faces. <3
DeleteIf we are all being truthful here. I have yet to find my warrant. And that is because I have yet to find myself. Is it scary? Yes. Do I ponder my days thinking about it, no. Should I? Probably.
ReplyDeleteI guess when I find my warrant(s) I hope it looks something like this: The warrant to give. The warrant to back pack through Africa into tiny villages and give my life meaning. Yes, I understand I need a "real job". Can't I just combine the two and call it a day? I want to experience hunger, poverty, third world realism first hand. And inform all of you lovely people about it. I want my warrant to be the warrant to give back. My beautiful, innocent parents have given up almost everything for me to sit in this classroom you. Some, may not have the opportunities that I have been given. I want that to change. Here we are all in this bubble of innocence.. my friends this isn't the real world.
So thats right, I can't give you a direct answer. But, I can leave you with an overused, cliche' of a quote. "Be the change you wish to see in the world"
So no, I don't have my warrant yet. But, thats okay. It'll be here soon, and it'll be original. Something different not "My warrant to Auburn University" or my warrant to "tri sigma phi delta theta"..it'll be a warrant to my individual identity.
With time comes age.
ReplyDeleteWith age comes maturity.
With maturity comes warrants.
I believe that as young adults (and up), we all have particular experiences that we can attest to. Please correct me if I am wrong....
Were you the person Did you attend that Backstreet Boys concert? Were you in New York City for the National Football League draft? These are physical warrants.
Have you been moved during a church service? Have you ever felt the Spirit move over you? These are considered spiritual warrants.
Did you move to a new neighborhood and be forced to meet new friends and faces? Social warrants.
I feel like our warrants define who we are. Yet, I feel like they may not be consistent.
My warrant in high school was simply leadership. Since I've been in college, I feel that I am amongst the top leaders. Does that make me ill-equipped for the description because I'm not president of Student Government, because I'm not the head of 10 million committees, or because I'm not well known on this college campus as I was on my high school campus?
No. Some people have different warrants, but some people's may coincide with one another. I believe that as long as you are able to guide someone else using your warrant, you are well-fit to own that warrant.
So what that I'm not 100% involved on campus? As long as I am able to tell younger people how to get involved and how to stay level headed, I will own that warrant.
I have a warrant to do whatever the hell I want to do. Case closed.
ReplyDeleteBoy would that be a lovely way to end the semester huh? When I hear the word warrant, I automatically think of the cops. Whatever! Don't act like you don't either! I'm sure the bad boys bad boys whatcha' gonna do theme song is playing in the back of your mind just as loud as it is in mine. But when I really sit down and think about warrants, I realize that they go far beyond the cops. Far beyond our authority....or the little authority that we think we have that doesn't even exist at all. Warrants begin with our potential.
Now I'm sure you're wondering how in the world I came up with that. But they really do! Long before you're made legal, or authorized to do something, speak about something, write about something- the potential and possibility has to be somewhere within you. The beauty of this is that although sometimes we may feel unsuccessful- like we just can't seem to get anything right or reach the top- we know that we can take a deep breath, grab a Gigi's cupcake, and realize that the potential within us to do extraodinary things is greater than we can imagine.
Warrants. I look at a warrant as what you have lived. For some of us, we've lived a lot. We've been through a lot. For others, not so much. Sometimes with modern technology its easier just to stay at home and read about what's happening on line that make the news yourself. You can't get a warrant by reading something, or watching something, or playing something on a video game. You get a warrant by doing something. I'm almost addicted to the act of getting out there and participating in what I love. So much so that I sometime completely neglect school. Not good. I need to rein it in a little. But because of my experience I have lots of warrants, motorcycles, cars, hooking up trailers, docking boats, bagging groceries, working at Subway...... You get it? Do something, talk about = warrant. Living essentially gives us warrants, not the right to brag, but the right to be knowledgeable.
ReplyDeleteAnd with a world filled with ipads and laptops, we're losing our warrants.
Warrants- I don't think I could ever find all of mine. Sure, I could ramble on about show choir all day, Jesus, mission trips, or Auburn. But what is a warrant exactly? You would think that after a semester of this class, I would be able to pinpoint exactly what my number 1 warrant is, but I can't. Is that bad? Not at all. Because here's the thing, warrants make you unique to who you are. They are the things that you can relate to but no one else in the room knows the first hand experience that you have had.
ReplyDeleteSo yes, I do have warrants. I have a warrant to talk about Rio Bravo, Mexico and I have a warrant to talk about show choir and Auburn Singers because those are both things that have shaped me into the person I am today, but I wouldn't say that they are all that I am. Truthfully, I'm still trying to figure out who I am and where I belong. After all, I'm a 19 year old freshman. These are still things that are floating in my head. Sure I can tell you my dreams and sure I can tell you about my past. The eating disorders, the mission trips, the friends I've kept and the friends I've lost, but they all make up my warrant. My warrant is my life- how I got to where I am today. It's not easy, but it's me.
Warranted with what? I can't stand the idea of saying warrant. It makes me think of what a police officer needs to search the premises. But if I was warranted it'd be on golf and paintball. Those are my two passions and the fact that I can't help but love them.
ReplyDeleteI know that I am not perfect, but what I do I do my best at. I know the ins and outs of the game and no matter what I can say I know what I'm talking about. That is what being warranted entails. Most people claim false warrants but I don't think that you can't be completely warranted on anything due to the evolution of everything.
Whatever it is we are warranted about it is the idea that we as humans can keep our heads on and stick to what we know and love. This warrant comes from our passion and not knowledge. If we love what we do and know what we love we will be warranted on the pretense that we are there for that reason.
Looking back on this, I realize that yes, we may have a specific area of expertise we like to stick with, but we all have tiny bits of warrants in a multitude of areas. We go through life getting involved with certain activities, being with certain kinds of people, going certain places, and all of this pieces together our tiny warrants. Some are larger than others, but we can have a say in many areas.
ReplyDeleteI chose Auburn and being in a military family as my last warrant, and this just doesn't seem fair to the other great things I have knowledge on. I'm a band geek, I really like cats, and I love being outside. I have just as much knowledge and passion in these areas as I do in my originals, so I want to take it back. I think humankind as a whole can pick one general thing to be a pro in, but limiting it to that limits us as people too. Some get so involved in their "warrants" that they forget what other great things they can do or even start to do. In the end, picking just one warrant to rewrite on isn't enough for me. We will never stop experiencing and learning stuff and when our lives come to an end, we should be able to say we had warrants for many things. Having just one wouldn't do our lives justice.