Erin Lodes

Introducing: Erin Struggles With Things!!!

*throws ripped up scraps of notebook paper in the air as confetti*

There’s a quote in The Newsroom, an incredible Aaron Sorkin show — seriously go watch it right now, and at least watch this clip if you watch nothing else — that I absolutely fell in love with. I’m going to go ahead and say that I’m comfortable defining parts of my life with it. Here it is:

MacKenzie McHale: Are you sure about that?

Brian Brenner: I’m absolutely sure about that.

MacKenzie McHale: You know what I like about Will? He’s not absolutely sure about anything. He struggles with things. He’s never certain he’s right, and sometimes he’s not, but he tries hard to be. He struggles with things.

That quote has been stuck in my head ever since I first heard it. Because it’s so simple and yet so absolutely brilliant. When did we decide we had to know our position on absolutely everything and defend our side to the death even when the other side (or sides) has good arguments, or without hearing those arguments at all? There are so many things I’m not sure of in my life, and this quote has really helped me be okay with that. It’s okay sometimes to not know. And it’s always okay — and really this should be something we all do — to listen and consider the other side.

Now, I’m a writer, so one of the main ways I work through things I’m not sure about is through writing. Hence, this blog series. These posts will just come up as things I come across in my life hit that little button that says this bugs me or I’m not sure how I feel about this or this is rankling up my cognitive dissonance hardcore. The posts will be in no particular order and will come at random intervals. Fair Warning – They will probably lean towards the political side of the spectrum.

I’m excited to get started! To ask questions and try to get some answers… but mainly it will be about asking questions. I sincerely believe in asking questions. I believe in struggling with things.

Anyway, that just happens to be how I feel about it. What do you think?