My name is Michael as most of you know; it’s a very common name, I once looked it up and it was either the number one boys name most of time or second or third for over forty years. I have often said we have our own secret society intent on taking over the world; we are still working on that in case you were wondering. I can remember from an early age being familiar with Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, or as most know him simply as the artist, Michelangelo. Art has always been a part of my life in some way; I took lessons at an early age and created some of my own. I love visiting museums and staring for long periods of time at the masterpieces of painting and sculpture, trying desperately to see each brush stroke and the subtle lines in the sculpted form that capture reality in canvas or stone. Because of this Michelangelo was, of course, one of my favorites as he is with so many.
As a youth I was more fascinated with him than many others probably were for the simple reason of the coincidence with our names; with Michael being so close, maybe a shorter, simpler version of Michelangelo. I fancied myself a young Michelangelo with my work, a fantasy for sure, but something that was a secret goal in my younger days. What is it with idolizing someone or being so enthralled with a persona that you seem to relate in some odd way? Connection is something everyone searches for and feels on so many different levels depending on their unique situation. There are names that we all recognize for different reasons: friends, acquaintances, the famous, and the historically significant. Michelangelo is easily recognizable by the vast majority of the world’s population, while Michael is common; the likelihood of someone recognizing me without my middle and last name is somewhat far-fetched. I really have no illusions that my name, as common as it is and with my simple life, will ever attain the near god-like status of Michelangelo; truthfully it’s not a realistic goal, simply because the possibility of that happening is far further than winning the lottery.
We all need hero’s, he was one of mine; for me he was the epitome of success or maybe more accurately the top of the measuring stick form which all others would be compared. Time is a standard, not just a schedule; it is the very standard on how things are judged, to stand the test of time someone or something is deemed great. Achilles will forever be known as the greatest warrior, Miguel de Cervantes will live on in literature world forever, and Michelangelo will be synonymous with art. Make no mistake I do not categorize myself in any way with these giants, they are my idols, my personal hero’s, and they are my goals; I will hold them up as my attainable desire though lofty as it is. As the expression goes, ‘Shoot for the stars, so if you fall you land on a cloud’, is something that we all should consider. The fantasy of imagining oneself as any of these people is a good goal at first, but not to be mistaken as reality; you must begin the work that will take your name and get it carved in stone.
My name is Michael W. Glover, not catchy, not mysterious or odd, just a simple name that tags me as not the person next to me. Don’t get me wrong I like my name; maybe if I want something more intriguing I will come up with a pen name. I have thought about it, but I guess I wanted everyone to know who I was with everything I am working on now. I want them to know it was me who did that, not that mysterious person they don’t believe they know. I think just being oneself is hard enough much less trying to be someone else, it’s a hard battle to both conform to what the world wants and simultaneously be something unique and special. Being me has its struggles, we all have that; I have learned as most of us do, to forget what others think and just be you. I am Michael; I can be fun, contrary, inquisitive, unrealistic, supportive, thoughtless, creative, and selfish. I am all of these things and so much more, good and bad. The goal is to be more good than bad, to be more than less; to try to make this life something that not only I am proud of and look back fondly on, but maybe just maybe, a life that will be remembered. I will not be Michelangelo and that is okay, he was awesome. I am Michael and that is great.
As a youth I was more fascinated with him than many others probably were for the simple reason of the coincidence with our names; with Michael being so close, maybe a shorter, simpler version of Michelangelo. I fancied myself a young Michelangelo with my work, a fantasy for sure, but something that was a secret goal in my younger days. What is it with idolizing someone or being so enthralled with a persona that you seem to relate in some odd way? Connection is something everyone searches for and feels on so many different levels depending on their unique situation. There are names that we all recognize for different reasons: friends, acquaintances, the famous, and the historically significant. Michelangelo is easily recognizable by the vast majority of the world’s population, while Michael is common; the likelihood of someone recognizing me without my middle and last name is somewhat far-fetched. I really have no illusions that my name, as common as it is and with my simple life, will ever attain the near god-like status of Michelangelo; truthfully it’s not a realistic goal, simply because the possibility of that happening is far further than winning the lottery.
We all need hero’s, he was one of mine; for me he was the epitome of success or maybe more accurately the top of the measuring stick form which all others would be compared. Time is a standard, not just a schedule; it is the very standard on how things are judged, to stand the test of time someone or something is deemed great. Achilles will forever be known as the greatest warrior, Miguel de Cervantes will live on in literature world forever, and Michelangelo will be synonymous with art. Make no mistake I do not categorize myself in any way with these giants, they are my idols, my personal hero’s, and they are my goals; I will hold them up as my attainable desire though lofty as it is. As the expression goes, ‘Shoot for the stars, so if you fall you land on a cloud’, is something that we all should consider. The fantasy of imagining oneself as any of these people is a good goal at first, but not to be mistaken as reality; you must begin the work that will take your name and get it carved in stone.
My name is Michael W. Glover, not catchy, not mysterious or odd, just a simple name that tags me as not the person next to me. Don’t get me wrong I like my name; maybe if I want something more intriguing I will come up with a pen name. I have thought about it, but I guess I wanted everyone to know who I was with everything I am working on now. I want them to know it was me who did that, not that mysterious person they don’t believe they know. I think just being oneself is hard enough much less trying to be someone else, it’s a hard battle to both conform to what the world wants and simultaneously be something unique and special. Being me has its struggles, we all have that; I have learned as most of us do, to forget what others think and just be you. I am Michael; I can be fun, contrary, inquisitive, unrealistic, supportive, thoughtless, creative, and selfish. I am all of these things and so much more, good and bad. The goal is to be more good than bad, to be more than less; to try to make this life something that not only I am proud of and look back fondly on, but maybe just maybe, a life that will be remembered. I will not be Michelangelo and that is okay, he was awesome. I am Michael and that is great.
RSS Feed