Sitting With Seuss
Needless to say, going to Dr. Seuss' house was literally a dream come true. He is someone who has long inspired me, from the way he persevered after having his first book rejected 28 times to the way he kept going after his third book was a complete and utter failure (most of you have probably never heard of it, The Seven Lady Godivas). And still, long before I knew things about Seuss it was his stories that inspired me and sparked my imagination. From the nonsense and silly rhymes to the steady current of implemented truths throughout his books. I know they're just stories, yet is it really so silly to believe that, "Unless someone like you cares a whole lot, nothing's going to get better. It's not." (The Lorax) Or that, "A person's a person no matter how small." (Horton Hears A Who) Children's literature is an art form whose power is widely underestimated. Stories hold the power to make a difference- and not just for children, adults too. I'm talking to the 15 yr olds, the 50 yr. olds and beyond. Long after the book closes, the words echo. After the pages turn, the images remain. Stories hold power, our imaginations bring to life pieces of our soul that we too often leave behind. The guts to be fearless, the stamina to stick to truth no matter the cost, the freedom to love life, to live it dancing in wonder. The right to pursue what we love (we all learned that from Winnie the Pooh and his constant pursuit of honey). The world we live in is a beautiful place, the soul occupying your body is a beautiful wonderland. Full of hopes, dreams, possibilities, but most of all Purpose. You hold a purpose. Not in just how well you can finish a task or work a job, but there is a purpose in how you dream.
If I am wrong then I suppose my entire life to this point has been a failure. Which I suppose on the grand scale of society it is: I'm a college drop out with no degree and no desire to go back. I've had three jobs in the past three years and I now work at a coffee shop. 21 years old and I don't even own a car.... I've heard it all too, that I should get a degree, that dropping out was stupid, 'What do you do again?'. I've heard it from dozens of people around me and from myself. I've been afraid of failure, I've doubted my own potential, I've disbelieved my own dreams. Yet within 2 years of dropping out of school I have learned something that I know some take a lifetime to believe. Who we are and how we dream makes a difference. There's a reason they say to follow your dreams, dreams don't leave us behind. They take us places we could never imagine!
Without my dreams, I would not have dropped out of school to take on three jobs at once, 70 hour work weeks, and a deadline of 4 illustrations a week. I would not have been a published illustrator at 19 yrs. old. (www.plantedcurriculum.com)
I would not have been negotiating contracts with publishers for a book I had written and illustrated in a storage room in South GA. Countless nights and afternoons alone, for the sake of an idea.
I would have never held that book in my hands, at my very own art show at 20 yrs. old.
I would have never called the Director of Random Houses Children's Division, if not for a silly dream to illustrate a Seuss book. Any editor at Random House only takes submissions from an agent, let alone THE Director. My idea was completely rejected but now they have heard of me! Even for that project I spent over 100 hours working for a simple rejection?
But if not for that entire experience then I never would have ever thought to call Audrey Geisel. But when I realized I would be only 30 minutes from La Jolla, where Seuss lived, my reasoning lasted 5 seconds. 'I was able to find the Director at Random House's phone number, why not this too?'
If not for dreams, the big and small, I never would have sat where Seuss sat at just 21 yrs. old. Nor would my book hold a very coveted place on his bookshelf.
SEUSS. An icon. A writer. An illustrator. A household name. Apart of history. Bestseller.
And I'm just ... A dreamer; Who believes in a Big God who can do Bigger things.
I wanted to sit where Seuss sat, so I did. Absolutely nothing is impossible but no dream is possible if you aren't willing to take the risk. If you aren't willing to take the risk in believing in the value you hold.
Tell me I'm wrong, but my actions have already spoken louder than those words. So to end this, I'll leave you and your dreams with words of a children's books;
"And will you succeed? Yes you will indeed! 98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed! Kid, you'll move mountains! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. Oh the things you can find if you don't stay behind, you'll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut! If things start happening, don't worry, don't stew. It's better to know how to learn than to know. Just go right along and you'll start happening too! Oh the thinks you can think! If you never did, you should! Open your mouth, lad, For every voice counts! Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple... Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory. So, think and wonder. Wonder and think! Live today as if it is the day you will be remembered."
Just a portion of the words I have heard on my nights, Sitting with Seuss, reading his books. Stories are powerful, they make a difference; and so do you.