As I dug my way through my backpack one morning, my meaning of Orlando came to me. I was pulling out the final draft of my Orlando paper when seemingly all the thoughts I had previously had finally started fitting together. Orlando wasn't just about a person changing in nearly every single way, it was about a person growing up and no longer accepting that which they were given; it was about a brave soul who rejected the path set before them, and learned to walk on their own ground.
Over the past few weeks, I've been noticing things in society that I simply cannot force myself to agree with, and refuse to force to myself to accept. It's because of that one defining moment as I turned in my paper that I realized that conforming to society is not a requirement to survive. People were created with differences for a reason, and by attempting to be like everyone else, you lose the person that you spent so long trying to find.
While my peers and my society will have an impact on me, no doubt, I'm now able to see that I can go in the same direction without following in anyone's footsteps, or walking on a pre-made path. I'm not like everyone else, though for a while I tried be. Orlando was happy, no matter who, what or where Orlando was, Orlando was happy.
Things may not always make sense, and I may not always agree with things, but now I know that that's okay. I can now be honest when I say that the path I'm walking is also the path I'm choosing. I'll take a few more wrong steps along the way, trip over myself a few times and get a few bruises here and there. Leaving the drama and lies behind, I'm finally walking on my own two feet. I'm Toby, and for right now, that's okay.
Wow. It's not every day you get two epiphanies in one night, but there you go. From the brief four paragraphs you wrote, Toby Klein, I learned a LOT. For a minute I was worried Orlando would become the next Ishmael, but most of all, like everyone else, I was baffled as to what purpose it could possibly have. Now, after reading this post, it all makes sense.
ReplyDeleteOrlando was born a boy. He decided to screw with society just because he could, so he woke up one morning and was a woman. Wait, no, there were fairies involved and - you know what, "open to interpretation" is fine by me. Seriously though, the lack of explanation as to how this is possible only further reflects the meaning. People have their own reasons for shaping themselves the way they want to. Society is bound to think them foolish for doing it, but in the end, it's the better decision to make. So yeah, Orlando randomly turned into a woman, and I can't say that's not weird. It's the subtext that's important here.
So now I know. And knowing is half the battle!!