Walt Grace...Me?

Walt Grace's Submarine Test, January 1967

John Mayer

"It's Not the End"

          A famous musician, Bono, once said "Music can change the world because it can change people" As a person, I do not succumb to many obstacles, I don't think I can do very much academically, or in other words, reach expectations of others, but one necessity I need in life is music. No, I am not Beethoven, but I feel as if music is a component of my individuality; almost like a cog in the cycle of an entire machine. I shall not lose air in my lungs or lose my ability to walk, but I will lose my ability to think---to elaborate and innovate. Music in so many ways can break down each factor of your emotions into words; words you could never be able to say or to express. From Rap to Rock, each genre has its meaning and purpose of being created. Even the most criticized songs contain lyricism and meaning too powerful for some to understand. The song above is one of my favorite songs due to its meaning, its simplicity, and its creation of not a song, but the creation of possibilities. Possibilities, as in we are able to do anything.

       This song is truly incredible because it separates human perspectives and ideology. In any classroom, in any office, in any building, there are the pessimists and the optimists. The perspective in which a person's mind sets to can be such a powerful benefactor to affecting the atmosphere around themselves. A vibrant, smiling man brings positive energy to his colleagues, his peers, his friends, while the relentlessly irritant man constantly pulls others into his abyss of intermittent sadness. The story in which I perceived myself in this song might differ from yours because that's the beauty of this song. Long story short, Walt Grace is a character who artist John Mayer created who simply wants to reinvent himself as a person: Walt Grace is on the search for adventure, relevance, and new experiences. He then locks himself away from family and friends in his basement to create a submarine out of ordinary household items. Alongside, his friends and family disparage and belittle his ideas, "his wife told his kids he was crazy...his friends said he'd fail if he'd try.". While they neglect his thoughts and hopes, he ignores their opinions and continued, through the difficulties, to make his invention. He then set sail alone for an adventure that he did not expect to teach him new ways of life, such as turning into tides. He is ecstatic at the sight of the sky in a flare, like a new beginning of hope and nirvana. His wife later then gets an unexpected call which states her husband has died in Tokyo. 

       His death sparks a domino effect of the people who knew and/or cared for him to speak about him after his death. These fictional people in the lyrics are the same people who critique the song and the ideals of a lost man such as Walt. The pessimistic side would state his ignorance, asking questions like "Why would he go to the sea so unprepared?" and assume he was "ignorant" or "stupid". While these things can be true to some, it is the fact that the world is diverse in thinking. We as humans do not understand one another because we aren't one another---we do not have the same experiences life throws at us. Walt's actions admittedly weren't the smartest decisions, but it was his own way of reinvention, a way of finding creative ways to spark a light into the candle of happiness once again. A question to ask negative viewers is "Was it stupid because he went into the sea, or was it because he died?". If Walt Grace had lived through his adventure, he would be accommodated as a world class sailor or someone inspirational---only for his victory. If Colombus hadn't found the Americas and just died after he set sail, he would have just been another failure, another death story to talk about. Walt Grace, dead or alive, was a tale of a man who had ventured through the aspirations of his own imagination, excelling in the eyes of his own opinion rather than others. He reached nirvana, enlightenment, and happiness with the ease of following one's goals and intuitions. We as a modern society forgot how it is to venture away from the television screen; how to truly find ourselves and how to make a mark on the society. 

          Walt Grace's acts might have been ridiculously random and odd, but it was his way of breaking away from the tedious, repetitive life we live in. The bystanders did not help either, making him look like some sort of circus freak for his actions. We as humans cannot belittle others because we are different; each one of us has a glimpse of hope to accomplish an ecstatic moment in our lives. Until you realize how joyful and inspiring Walt Grace's story is, you will not be able to have the privilege to live---to be alive. We live life only once, so we become characters of our own imagination to exceed in life and make opportunities and successes we have never imagined possible. This is not an invitation to make a submarine out of a fanblade and die in the ocean, but it is the encouragement to reevaluate your life and prioritize carefully, because one day it might be too late to give life your fullest. Walt Grace, in some aspects, can be proven similar to how I feel as a person as well. Though I am still young, I feel as if my life and future can be determined by all my actions and that I should value each moment I have. Life is a train that cannot be stopped, just like a clock that won't stop ticking. As irrational as it sounds, we as individuals must direct ourselves into not what others want us to do, but what we want to do. The submarine built by Walt is like the life you can shape through the will and desire to strive for knowledge, innovation, and development.