Achieving Serenity

Winners

Who you surround yourself with

They had never been so disappointed with their son in all of his life. This wasn't the future they had intended for little Albert; where had they gone wrong?

However they wanted to feel about it, the fact remained official: their eldest had dropped out of high school.

"How are you going to support yourself without an education?!" she barked at her son.

"I already told you- I'm making money at the comedy clubs. I want to be a comedian," Albert replied.

"It's not enough!" she exclaimed, the second syllable of "enough" made clear to Albert and his father that she was stifling tears.

"Son, it's important that you establish a backup plan in case things don't turn out the way you want. High school and college pave that path for you," came the calm yet stern words from Albert's father.

"Now that I'm getting out of class before noon, I just have too much freedom as a student," Albert said, referring to his new early-release schedule as a senior. "When I get out of class, I have nothing to do until 10 PM when I go into the comedy club. Then the next day I'm completely exhausted during class and can't even focus. I think about what the whole point of high school is... I don't see one. I just like making people laugh. I either want to make people laugh and get rich, or make people laugh and stay poor. I don't need high school to do that."

"You can go to college for comedy or creative writing, but not if you don't have a high school diploma. Nobody's going to want to pay you if you're just some kid off the streets. I'm sorry, buddy, but it's just the nature of the world," dad said, asserting his voice of reason.

"I have a good group of friends at the comedy club, but I don't really have much in common with the kids at school. I don't think like them and it makes me feel like a complete outcast. But at the clubs- I feel comfortable."

"Albert, you're not funny!" his mom burst out through apparent tears. "Only funny people can become comedians! You need to go back to school!"

The argument only turned sourer from here and resulted in Albert's father announcing that it's probably for the best if his son moved out right when he turned eighteen, which was more than agreeable for Albert. His father hated to say that to him but he couldn't have this kid making his wife worry and cry all the time.

Albert couldn't deny his emotions. He really tried to find a core group of friends at high school, but they always treated him like shit. They were so focused on trying to be cool on the time and it was rather frustrating. Just last week, his biggest bully, Barry, had invented a day at school called "I Hate Albert Day". Barry and six other kids wore white T-Shirts that read the same thing. At the comedy clubs, people didn't laugh at him but instead at his jokes. Fellow comedians would treat him with respect. They would hang out together, true bonds were formed and the entire atmosphere made Albert feel like a winner. Why would he want to be around people that bullied him when he could be around people that made him feel alive? He didn't know how to explain it to his parents and felt like even if he could, they were incapable of understanding.

Regardless of the genuine love and concern that Albert knew his parents had for him, he had to go with his inner heart and continue networking with as many comedians as he could. Any time he was at a club, or with an improv troupe, he had the line of thinking of "I don't care what I have to do- I need to stay here. Lock myself down with chains if I have to. I need to do whatever it takes to be here more and more." He was making some cash performing sets and would use that money to pay for improv classes. In one of the classes, he met Don, who would become a life-long friend. Don had a television show and wanted Albert to be a writer on it. This proved to be his first real "gig" of many.

Several years later, Albert is performing a show with his own improv troupe when he notices a familiar face, sitting lonely in the front row. It slightly distracts him, but he notices that it is undoubtedly his old big bully, Barry. He continues to flawlessly Yes, and... with his group despite the odd emotions flashing through his mind. After the 20-minute show, Barry tracked Albert down with nothing but a great vibe coming from him.

"That was amazing, Bert! I never knew you were so hilarious!" Barry said. "I heard you were performing in this show tonight and I needed to come to see you. Do you have a minute you could spare for me?" asked Barry, with a noticeably different gleam in his eye. Albert agreed and the two proceeded to drive off to a dive bar together.

Barry apologized profusely for his immature actions, wanted nothing more than Albert's understanding and forgiveness. He explains that he could no longer tolerate hanging out with his "negative" friends, who were always partying and doing drugs.

"I didn't like the way I was feeling around them. And I just remember the look in your eyes... You were always strong and mature when we would make fun of you. You would stare through our souls as if you knew something we didn't. After seeing you perform, I'm starting to believe you do know something I don't- something about happiness."

Albert was making a positive life for himself, both financially and spiritually. His parents were wrong about him; he was funny and was making the money to prove it. He was more than willing to forgive Barry for his actions.

"I think one of the most important things that people seem to overlook about mind and attitude is looking at who you spend the most time with. I gravitated toward the comedy community because I loved the way I felt around the people there. Those kids at North Hollywood High? Even some of the people I did hang out with- they were negative and were striving too hard to idealize their reputation. I just couldn't hang out with negative people all the time and expect to not be negative myself."

What Albert was saying made a lot of sense to Barry. He thought about his own childhood and how his older brother had bullied him. He felt like the only way to survive as a man was to constantly flex your dominance. His world outlook began to change after graduating from high school.

Albert and Barry became close friends and to Albert's surprise- Barry also had quite a comedic talent. They both went on to star in a popular television series for decades and had many prestigious acting and comedic gigs along the way. Albert married a woman whom he had met early on at the comedy clubs and was able to give his parents three beautiful grandchildren. Mom and Dad were proud of him and were finally able to understand what he was trying to tell them so many years ago.