Rene Alvarez | Learning to be bold

Three months ago, I started appearing on these pages to share my thoughts and view of the world with all of you. It has been a good run and I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience of providing you with the benefit of my wisdom.

Regrettably, "Rico Suave" will not be appearing on Tuesdays next semester (hold your applause and shouts of joy until the end of this piece, please). The demands of dissertation writing and job hunting preclude me from fulfilling the responsibilities of a weekly column. But as I said, it has been fun. And I have learned a bit about writing, which can be distilled in a few fundamental truths that I think apply to most any life situation.

Fundamental Truth Number 1: It's a lot harder than it looks.

When I started this undertaking, I saw it as a means of keeping me from watching too many Simpsons and Seinfeld reruns when not dissertation writing or fulfilling my teaching obligations. Plus, I figured, how hard could this be? I have written millions of words in pieces for my professors that were far more sophisticated than anything I had ever seen in the pages of the DP before. Seven hundred-fifty-words a week would be a cakewalk, right?

Well, I was only partially correct. While I did abandon much of my usual viewing pleasures, the obligations of a weekly deadline were more challenging than I imagined. The difference between watching and doing is vast and you never know how difficult something is until you throw yourself into it and rise to that challenge.

Sometimes, though, you fail to rise completely to that challenge, which brings us to -

Fundamental Truth Number 2: You're only as good as your last time out.

Baseball fans know that not every at-bat results in a home run. The same holds true for writing. Some columns invariably were better than others. Some generated debate online or in letters to the editor. Readers responded to many as serious pieces for their consideration. In mid-October, I wrote a piece about bicycle use on Locust Walk. Reaction over the next several days ranged from supporting the rules of enforcement to advocating their flagrant disregard.

Others - like my foray into the world of body-building or my views on getting older - some readers called laughably self-indulgent. Regardless, readers tuned in week after week to see if I knocked one out of the park or went down swinging. Sometimes I did both.

To paraphrase Abe Lincoln, you can please some people all of the time, all people some of the time, but not all people all of the time. Pleasing anybody seems near impossible every week when confronting a blank page. Discovering a topic, developing an argument and finding the words to express it is daunting. Either way, you don't gain anything by not trying. But regardless of how much success your efforts might yield, remember -

Fundamental Truth Number 3: Stay Humble.

I walked into my first editing session with the opinion-page editor - a junior history major - feeling rather arrogant. I figured I have forgotten more about writing then he has ever known. That attitude changed quickly. Our weekly editing sessions became lessons in authorship, style and awareness of audience. And while I will desperately cling to the belief that I still have forgotten more about history than he will ever know, I have learned to accept what he had to teach me about writing. Perhaps this old dog can learn new tricks. And that's when I employ -

Fundamental Truth Number 4: Revel in your success.

It feels good to find the right words to say something in the right way. It feels better when others think so too. They will either commend you or criticize you. No matter what, however, striking a nerve in such a way that moves people is quite rewarding. Getting recognized from your head cut by strangers along the Walk doesn't hurt either. So, while humility is good, there is no sin in reveling in personal victories.

Carry these truths with you. They may not help you during reading days and finals week, but they are useful guidelines for when you take on something new. Whether its a job, a challenging class, or a relationship, play on your strengths, push past your weaknesses and always be bold.

Rene Alvarez is a sixth-year History Ph.D. candidate from Chicago, Ill. His e-mail address is alvarez@dailypennsylvanian.com. Rico Suave appears on Tuesdays.

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