This Creative Life Is Just a Series of Mediocrities
I just got fired. Here’s why it’s a good thing.
I’ll tell you something few people know about me.
Seriously few. It’s because I’ve been quite ashamed about it my entire adult life.
So here goes.
When I was 18, I went to the open audition of the Finnish TV show Idols. Yes, it’s exactly like American Idol. And yes, I really thought I would be famous.
This was around 2003, the golden age of such shows. Young people like me were just starting to wake up to a new kind of pop culture, one that was closer and more immediate.
There was no social media back then, and internet was still something you accessed at home on your desktop computer. There was no influencer culture, but we did come of age at a high point in celebrity culture, and many millennials grew up dreaming about being famous.
In this new reality TV world, fame was suddenly possible even if you didn’t live in a big city and have contacts or rich parents. Carrie Underwood or Kelly Clarkson could just step out of their hometowns and become instantly famous thanks to their talent.
I was always convinced it was in the cards for me, too.
