In this scripted episode, I take a deep dive on gratitude just in time for the holidays.
Here’s the whole essay if you’d like to read along:
Media Pod Smash Episode #114:
Gratitude
By: Jeremy Jordan
Part 1 – Introduction
Since I can remember, I’ve always been very interested in doing creative things. Through my years of schooling, I’d be willing to bet that I could fill at least a file cabinets’ worth of all the various doodles, stories, and whatever else my whimsical childhood brain concocted. As much fun as it would be for this file cabinet of my old childhood art to exist, I can imagine that a large percentage of it would be better left just romanticized in the intro of a piece of writing.
I do have one small collection that I actually managed to hold onto which happens to reside inside of an actual file cabinet; a comic series that I made in elementary school called “The Adventures of Blaze”. Blaze was a pretty badass dude who didn’t have many powers, but always rocked a pair of shades, so you know he was cool as hell and could probably handle whatever came his way.
I don’t know why I decided on comics as a format. For one, I never really read that many comics as a child and on top of that, I couldn’t draw very well. Those things didn’t matter at all to young me at the time though. I loved what I had created and couldn’t wait to create as many adventures as I could for my hero, Blaze.
Over the course of a few weeks in class, I had generated quite the collection of comics. There were so many, I could’ve made a Blaze omnibus. I was proud of my work and proud of myself, but up until that point had never shared any of it. I knew what my creations were and felt it was just something for me; that was until a special substitute entered into my life.
This sub we will call, Teacher X. The teacher that had been teaching our class that year had gone on an extended leave and we were graced by the presence of teacher x. She was young and filled with lots of passion. The interest that she took in other students seemed genuine. This interest included my Blaze comic books. I’m not sure how or when she first noticed that I was into creating these books, but it certainly left an impact on me.
Up until that point, I had not really experienced that level of support and interest from an adult who wasn’t a immediate family member. As she asked me about what I was working on, my enthused, youthful brain spat the words out like I was trying to list all the terms and conditions at the end of a sketchy credit advertisement. She patiently listened and continued to ask a couple more things before moving on to speak to another student.
A few days later, teacher X approached me with a drawing of her own; a character that she designed which she though would be cool to add to one of my comics. I was psyched. Not only did she show an interest, but she even wanted to help contribute to it.
Eventually our actual teacher came back from the extended leave and teacher x left our class. I’m honestly unsure of what happened to teacher x, but I’ll always remember the impact she had in my life. She probably doesn’t even remember that moment and how it was significant enough to be apart of my intro on gratitude. It was a small moment, however, it usually is the small moments that have the biggest imprints. I hope that teacher x is continuing to inspire young minds and knows how much she is appreciated, wherever she is.
So what does this have to do with anything? Well, it has quite a bit to do with the topic at hand. I look back on this time in my life and feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude. It’s incredible what a little bit of encouragement and interest can do for a young child. My Blaze comics wouldn’t go on to become a money making franchise and I’m much more into writing than drawing now as an adult, but that doesn’t matter. It’s not about what it could become, it’s about just creating for the sake of creating and feeding the soul. Had I not gotten that encouragement, maybe the path would’ve looked quite a bit different for me. Maybe I wouldn’t have had the confidence to put myself out there and try other creative things. I still had other areas of support, so it’s unlikely that this was the be all end all moment, but you never know. I think often of what my childhood could’ve been and I’m thankful. I knew kids who didn’t get that type of positive interaction or came from dysfunctional situations. I’ve seen a lot overcome shitty circumstances too, but it’s still truly awful. A stable childhood is just one of the many blessings that cross my mind as I think about the theme of this essay.
In my teens into my early 20’s, I never took a lot of time to sit back and really take stock of the things in my life that I have to be grateful for. I was a bit of a cynical douche. Many times I’d recall people saying things like “be lucky you have a job” or “at least you have your health” and I’d think, “piss off!”. Life however, hits hard and changes people. A few years of growth and development later and I now really do try my best to enter a state of gratitude as much as possible.
When you are able to enter a state of gratitude, it will put you in a great frame of mind. This will then give you an edge, allowing you to better chase your dreams and handle whatever life throws at you. You’ll have to excuse me as this one may be a little bit different from here. The following sections are going to be mostly me just gushing about the things in my life that I’m thankful for, but if it all goes according to plan, hopefully we will all learn some lessons too.
PART 2 – Friends
The world is extremely chaotic right now. With the 24 hour news cycle, social media, and other extremely overstimulating things, we can get ourselves into a pretty edgy state. Our brains can start to freak out and convince us that maybe it’s safer to just hangout here in the office where it is warm and there’s a TV with Sports Center on it. Why go out into that chaotic world?
The answer is of course because despite all the suffering and tragic events that occur in our chaotic world, most people are good and we really need each other. I’ve read about and even unfortunately even seen people doing some horrible things to other people (thank you unsupervised early internet days). I’ve read nasty comments online from some people who don’t even care if they are anonymous or not. I have seen some of the worst of humanity, yet I believe these to all be outliers. I think most people are good people and life has proven that to me time and time again from an early age.
I met one of my first and best friends, Mitch, when I was very young. It was an innocent time when it was really nothing to just walk across the street and introduce yourself to someone. Now there might be a little bit more apprehension. I remember this moment very clearly; they had just moved in recently and I was excited that there was finally a kid my age on the block. After a round of sheepish “hi”s and introductions, a friendship blossomed. Little did we know, but we were in for years and year of everlasting memories. Sleepovers, uncontrollable fits of laughter, helpful advice sessions, the careless walks around town, having the honor of being the best man in his wedding, and then eventually getting to watch as his wonderful family grew. Lots of things have changed over the years, but we still make time for getting together and catching up. That will never change; I will make damn sure of that. If you are reading or listening to this I hope you know how grateful I am to have you in my life. I’m really proud of what you have been able to achieve for yourself; you have a lovely family and you are still one of the smartest dudes I know. Even back in the day I always looked up to your wisdom and I always felt like you had my back no matter what. Well, just know that I’ve always got yours going forward. Much love friend.
Soon after meeting Mitch, our crew would continue to grow. Some of the people in that crew were friends that I had attended catholic school with earlier and reconnected with, while others were brand new people that we had met through the years. By the end of high school we had become a very tight group. Nowadays I don’t get to see them all as much as I’d like to, but online gaming has made things a little more easy. Just a few weekends ago we had a late night Halo 2 session. As I hopped into the party chat and heard the familiar voices and laughter, I was immediately transported back to those days of hanging out in the basement, eating pizza and drinking insane amounts of Mountain Dew. Things were different now but not all things. The ability to pick up right where we left off and just be goofy remains and that delights me.
As if I needed anymore proof that most folks are good, I would continue to meet tons of great people after high school. In college I joined a film club and formed lasting friendships with some members and the founder, a former film professor of mine who has been a supporter of all of my creative endeavors since he knew about them. He even went as far as to put a promotional poster up on his door to advertise a movie that I was working on; Small Town Zombie Folk.
Speaking of which, during the attempting creation of that film, I received support in ways from people in my friend group that still floors me to this day. People who had little interest in film would show up on early, hot days to be in a movie that I was making. They had no obligation to be there and I sure as shit wasn’t paying anybody back then as a broke college student, and yet there they were. I never completed my dream of making a full length film…not yet at least, but I learned more valuable lessons about human beings.
In the workforce, I would also meet some awesome people. I had co-workers who became good friends of mine and helped with some of my creative endeavors. I had a manager during my early days of retail who was cool as hell and made the hell that we were enduring a little less hellish. To this day he is still a good friend of mine. He is an extremely warmhearted, supportive guy and he may or may not even be 1/3 of an entertainment podcast that I do called Pop Culture Roulette. The other 1/3 of that podcast is also a great friend of mine who I met through that same retail hell. These two have helped me turn dreams into realities, especially over the past year. Much like the attempted making of the film, this was a case of, they really didn’t have to be there, but there they were. Thank you for all of that and all we will continue to do. I won’t ever forget it.
When a person makes such a list as this, there’s undoubtedly going to be people left out. So to everyone else that has impacted me positively in life, I sincerely thank you. I hope that you have people in your life like this; if not, my advice would be to get some quick. The power of friendship truly is amazing, but that’s just the tip of the thankfulness ice burg.
Part 3 – Family
I grew up in a very average home and all things considered, I had a very normal life. I was adopted by two very caring parents and I had one older sister named Jaime.
When I was an annoying little shit, Jaime and I would have our dust-ups and things could get heated sometimes, but as we grew a bit older, we became much closer. Jaime influenced much of my pop culture taste, especially my taste in music. She took me to some of my first rock shows as a youth. I have fond memories of going to the Warped Tour one year and watching all sorts of different bands throughout the day that I would never have been exposed to otherwise. Looking back, I think that’s super cool and I hope she realizes how much of a boss move it was to take me to things like that too. We are still close today through lots of ups and downs. Life has thrown a lot of shit our way but we always have each other to count on. Jaime, I hope you know how happy I am that I had such an awesome sister growing up and at this very moment. I’m proud of the many milestones you’ve reached in your life including marriage, home ownership, and so much more. You are a strong person and like it says on that weird package of Kleenex that Dad gave you, you can do anything. Keep being you. Love ya sis.
I can’t complete a section on family without also mentioning my mother and father. They were both loving and super supportive. Anytime that I would dream a wild dream, it was never met with anything but, “go for it!”. I never went hungry and I always had a warm place to sleep every single night. If I can manage to remember these things in even the darkest moments in my life, then even the smallest pin prick of light can shine its way through and maybe make the moments a little less bleak. My mother instilled in me what it means to be a good person. A good person with a positive attitude that never ever gives up, even when the odds are not looking so great. I never said it enough but thank you. I love you.
Now that I’ve covered the two big ones, there’s just one more to dive into that may seem a little strange at first, but hear me out.
Section 4 – Me
In the past year I have resurrected a podcast that had been dormant for years. I created lots of shows, videos, and other content that I can now look back on with pride. I even did a 31 day marathon in the month of October. If I were to tell myself from just 5 years ago that I’d accomplished something like that, he’d shit bricks…or he’d still be passed out from the night before. Creatively I’ve crushed all of my previous efforts and I am continuing to try to challenge myself.
In my personal life I’ve dropped some nasty habits that could have easily lead me down an awful, deep hole. I’m over a year without alcohol and I workout pretty frequently. I take my mental health serious and try to live the life that’s best for me. I’m proud of the person that I am and I’m thankful for me.
I understand that friends and family are essential in helping us and shaping us into the versions of ourselves that we want to be, but there may be some moments where for whatever reason, all you have is you. That is why you should also be thankful for yourself. You need to let yourself know that you have your own back. When no one shows up in the stands you have the power to be your biggest cheering section and you can talk yourself though some pretty rough situations. You have everything that you ever needed deep down inside of you. Thank yourself. Trust me, you’ll appreciate it.
Section 5 – The Wrap Up
Today’s inspirational person of the month is NFL wide receiver AJ Brown. He posted a short video on social media about his own personal experiences with depression and getting help. His hope is that the video will inspire others to seek help if they need it and to treat their own mental health serious. He encourages anyone going through anything to talk to somebody about it. I personally think that with some of the other stuff going on around the league, it’s nice to hear a player be so candid about something like this. AJ Brown is using his platform in a positive way and showing people that they are not alone.
As for the homework, I hope things went well. We had an extra month this time so I hope you were able to pick an area in life and get more disciplined. In my own life I’ve still got some things to work on; I was disciplined creatively last month and created a lot of content, but some other things took a back seat so it’s time to re-calibrate the system.
This month’s homework is all about gratitude of course. Think about all the things in your life that you have to be thankful for. Write down at least five things and then think of some special people that you can do something kind for. Maybe write them a letter or take them to lunch. Remind the people in your circle how important they are. We came out of an extremely challenging year and the world is still very chaotic, but that’s okay. I know good people, have a great family, and I have me; that will triumph over the chaos every single time. Happy Thanksgiving.
Media Pod Smash Off!
-Jeremy
Media Pod Smash! 