Q: I had been out of work in my industry since Feb 2020. I spent the entire time sending out resumes to countless job postings. I would often send my resume out to 200+ job listings and not even receive a single interview. During the entire period, I probably had 3-4 real legitimate interviews. In one of them the guy interviewing me was some schmuck who I replaced in a prior job that I was eventually let go from due to internal politics and bullshit outside of my abilities. So this guy basically already had a bad opinion about me, and I knew I wasn't going to get that job. I've felt essentially blacklisted from my industry despite the fact that I never once got written up or reprimanded in my previous position at Apple. However, when I applied to go back, I was not re-hired. It pissed me the fuck off because I had recruited a guy from my master's program out of the kindness of my heart to help someone else out, and all he did was bring negative stories about me and gossip ...
"Thank you for taking what I did, and doing what I could have never imaged." - Rodney Mullen
We found an interview from The Berrics with professional skateboarder Rodney Mullen discussing resiliency, falling down, and picking yourself up again. He also talks about the gratitude he shares with the skateboarding community through the contributions of everyone, and the joy he feels when the next generation of skateboarders approach him
to thank him for doing what he did. Rodney in turn says, "thank you." "It comes from an ethos of sharing and feeling connected with people through what you do... and that's not something that's often taught."
"Skateboarding changes you in ways that you could never essentially try or go learn in a few sessions. It comes from years and years of getting back up. It changes you from inside." Rodney Mullen is often considered "The Godfather" of street skateboarding. He is credited with inventing a lot of the flip tricks that shaped the sport into what it is today. But he is quick to turn around the kudos by thanking his community for building upon his work and making the community as a whole stronger. "We all find this mutual sense of belonging in shaping a community by what we do. And what we do is we individuate ourselves... I take these elements and I help form myself to separate myself and give it back. And to the rest of the community, grow."
"I think there's something about skating that's special that way." Around 8:36 he talks about the uniqueness and individuality of skateboarders as athletes. "You are on your own. Not only are you on your own... you gotta go through adversity." Noting that skateboarders often lack the supportive "entourage" that comes with playing on a team, and are typically treated like criminals by authority figures. "There's something about that... it bakes into us on a deep level. That helps shape us."
What are your experiences with skateboarding? Does skateboarding help you to express yourself as an individual? Does skateboarding make you feel more or less connected with your community?
