Well…it’s almost Christmas, time to be with family and think about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I thought it’d be fun to discuss something I’ve thought about for a bit now since it’s so close to the holidays. Experiences in life compared to having things in life.
It’s odd to think about how, as a kid, usually we’re jealous of other kids because they have more stuff. They have the latest toys, coolest gear, had new computers often, etc. Admittedly, the new computer one is still cool. As a child, a lot of us are infatuated with things. Tangible objects, the stuff we can touch, the stuff that’s deemed “cool” are what we want. Whether or not that’s partially due to the consumer culture (it probably is) I cannot say for sure (but I’m 99% positive it is) but as children, the things we want are dictated by who has them, what commercials say about it and…are they tangible. What’s so funny is how for a rich kid or a poor kid, playing a sport is the same for the most part. It’s an experience to be had that cannot be separated by what things you have (except, I guess, equipment).
As I’ve grown older (hopefully wiser) I’ve accumulated a mass of things that kids would probably be jealous of. I have good microphones (two Bluemicrophones), a Macbook Pro laptop (early 2015), a Canon camera, awesome shoes (that don’t light up so kids won’t care), yet the reason I have those are different than “because they’re ‘cool’”. I have a laptop to do homework on (write articles, surf the web, learn that “surf the web” used to be a thing people said to include in an article), I have microphones to record music, mini-shows, chat online with my webcam and a cool mic; I have a Canon camera because I want to get another later down the road to shoot movie ideas I have, for the meantime, the Canon I have is good for awesome pictures. Yet, those awesome things aren’t really there to make me happy, they’re there to have to make experiences with. That’s what’s becoming more important to me in life as of late: experiences.
Things that are tangible versus experiences that aren’t tangible. I cannot physically touch and feel the experiences, but I can revisit them; I can sit down and edit a short film on a Macbook, a tangible thing, about experiences I’ve had. I can sit down, write a rap song, grab my Blue Yeti Microphone and connect it to said Macbook Pro and record a song. Go back later and listen to the completed song on my super-tangible and super helpful phone (I have an iPhone for now). I’ve never been coy about admitting my love for social media which are a combination of both I think: it’s a thing because we can see and feel it; interact with it in amazing ways. It’s an experience because it was made to be. I only mention this because it’s literally part of the platform I use for these articles that are an experience for me to write, yet a thing to interact with later along with others who view my work.
In life, things fade, they become meaningless depending on the social parameters up to a point. One day, this Mac I’m writing on will be in a junkyard or recycled, but for now it’s an amazing thing I have. Yet, the only point my experience of playing baseball for five years will be worthless is when I’m dead. Experiences outlasts things. Sometimes we need things to create an experience though. In the end: experience is more valuable than things, yet some experiences cannot be had without things. I would prefer a life full of awesome experiences over a life piled with tangible things. Yet, I love shooting pictures on my camera (which is tangible), I love recording soundscapes on a microphone (which is a thing that was $100 when purchased) and I love Facetiming a person on my phone. I’ll never forget the days under a certain tree in Liberty Station with my friends as we discussed random stuff occurring in our lives. That is, and until the death of me always will be, something I cherish as an experience. Just like, as of late, I’ve re-realized college is also an experience, it’s not necessarily tangible and it’s awesome. I probably won’t forget college until I’m dead. Any day of the week, give me experiences over things (but I still love clothes because they’re art and I adore art).
