I fall in love with some last words, especially when they feel like they need to be heard now. Some of my favorites include Mary Antoinette, who said, “Pardon me sir. I meant not to do it,” or “OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW,” from Steve Jobs. Last words tend to be the thesis sentence of someone’s life. My favorite is by Robin Williams, one of the greats of on-screen talent, who said in his very last movie, “Night at the Museum 3,” his last line on television: “Smile, my boy, it’s sunrise.” In a life so dedicated to pleasing and entertaining others, Williams suffered a great amount of inner tragedy, including childhood neglect, drug abuse, and addiction. He often hid these flaws from his performances to deliver joy and happiness to millions who came to his stand-up comedy shows and watched his movies. So when the world lost him on August 11, 2014, it was beyond devastating. Even so, his last message to the world was one of relentless optimism, telling another man to smile when there was nothing to smile about or for. At the moment, it was a ridiculous task to smile in a place where happiness seemed to have fled. Williams had asked the world to buy into blind optimism. And this was his parting message to the world: cheap optimism isn’t cheap at all.
Similarly, Andover often still feels like a never-ending pursuit of happiness. Endless challenges punch you in the face just enough for you to have enough energy to stand back up after you’re beaten up. Then we have to ask ourselves, where do we truly become happy? If there is never an end to our struggles, how can we find fulfillment in our lives? I found the answer in the quote: “Smile, my boy, its sunrise.” The simple line telling the man to smile indicates that even in the face of the grand uncertainty, one must find something worth smiling for. If we all believed and knew that we would fail every test we took, we would find little to no motivation to study. But it is the belief that studying will make us more capable and knowledgeable for a better grade that drives our forward momentum. It is also this blind optimism that pushes us through the rough days. Many days it feels like life is meaningless, and it is this optimism that we buy into blindly that tells us that there will be better days ahead. Even though it may not be true or may be true much later than we want it to, an optimistic mind is necessary to keep pushing.
As stated, whether we acknowledge it or not, we have already religiously bought into some aspects of blind optimism. With that being said, the improvements we need to make are to simply remind ourselves of this blind optimism that we carry. Simple affirmations and positive self-talk, such as “I can do this” or “It’s just going to take time,” can set our minds in the right direction. We have to believe that we can improve and that one bad performance is just a learning curve. By rewiring our thinking to accept setbacks as acknowledgement for growth, unrelenting positivity and hope will naturally follow. We have to believe in our ability to perform and improve. And it is in friendships where we require ourselves to have this mindset of optimism. The belief that the other friend is also devoted to the friendship, the belief that both parties are emotionally comfortable, and the belief that the friendship is functional. And there’s nothing we can do but hope and believe.
No matter how minor it may seem, having a relentlessly positive outlook towards life has helped me through many situations and still helps me today. There are many factors in life that are out of our control, and worrying about them individually only drains the last bit of happiness out of our lives. Instead, we should let go and choose intentionally to ignore. When used wisely, this ignorance can bring us bliss in this never-ending race to find happiness on the other side. But we must all reckon with the fact that there is no other side, and that optimism and smiling are signs of positivity that keep us going on the only side we have. So my last words are these: buy some cheap optimism; it’s always worth it. So smile. It’s sunrise.
