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Why we all secretly love a hot mess
Few things boost your confidence like watching a total fuck-up.
Everyone in grad school loved this one girl. She always showed up late. Never did the readings. Gave the same awful presentation on Totally Spies! and postmodernism in three different seminars. One professor sighed, “I can’t believe we let you in.”
It was more than a sigh. He tossed his bifocals on the desk and massaged his temples for ten entire seconds. Yeah, that bad.
Have you ever seen Totally Spies!? It’s worth watching. And if you can squeeze a dissertation out of it, be my guest.
We complained about that girl all the time. But secretly, I appreciated her so much. Especially at the end of the semester. Twice, I deliberately signed up to give my seminar presentation after hers.
Look, I’m something of an over-achiever. And there’s nothing we over-achievers enjoy more than a hot mess on a low bar.
I’m not saying it’s good or bad. Just speaking the truth.
Many of us judge ourselves harshly. Hold ourselves to impossible standards. End every day wishing we’d accomplished more.
But sometimes a gift comes our way. The hot mess. Crashing through life with reckless abandon. Look at them, trying to push a…
