Superman Can't Fly

I realise that I have a tendency to derive meaning from song lyrics. Be it Vienna Teng's amazingly metaphorical ballades, or random mandarin pop songs..I really like it when the lyrics actually mean something. (Instead of typical, sappy, "I love you, you don't love me" kinda songs...=_=|)

Anyway, been hooked on Jay Chou's new song "超人不會飛 - Superman Can't Fly" for a while now. Mainly, it talks about his life as a singer; having to watch everything he does, and deal with being scrutinised and often misunderstood by prying eyes. I highly recommend listening to it, and understanding the lyrics too (link to lyrics and video below)..they're hilarious in some parts, and thoroughly original. =)

Youtube
Lyrics + Translation

Anyway, the part that I really wanted to mention here is the chorus:

如果超人會飛　那就讓我在空中停一停歇
再次俯瞰這個世界　會讓我覺得好一些
拯救地球好累　雖然有些疲憊但我還是會
不要問我哭過了沒　因為超人不能流眼淚

If Superman can fly, then let me stop and rest for a while in the sky
Looking over this world again will make me feel a little better
Saving the world is tiring, but I will still persist
Don't ask me if I've cried before, because Superman cannot shed tears.

How many of us have felt that way in our lives? How many of us have felt that we live life governed by everyone's view upon us..and by the expectations that we're expected to fulfill? In a society that does not look kindly upon misdemeanors, how many of us have slipped and fallen out of line? Fallen short of expectations?

Sometimes, I feel like the weight of the world (at least, the world around me) weighs on my shoulders. All my life, I've felt the need to be "perfect", or as close to it as I can be. Doing well in school. Being 'the good kid'. Obeying parents, teachers, etc. Fulfilling curricular responsibilities. Not falling into the traps of the "budaya kuning" that we've been warned about since goodness-knows-when.

As typical Malaysia chinese city kids. We're pushed to get straight As..get scholarships..learn a gazillion other skills; art, music, gymnastics, martial arts, public speaking...take part in countless competitions...you name it. Parents compare their kids achievements, and inadvertently, the kids grow up competitive - always striving to be the cream of the crop. In a way its good, and I'm sure many of my classmates will agree with me. Without that, we would NEVER be where we are now. But really...is such competition, such pressure, necessary?

To digress, even socially - I've always felt the pressure of being the reliable one. The one everyone can turn to for help, for information, for pretty much anything at all. And being as socially inept as I am, I realise why I'm agreeable despite my own feelinds..why I'm always everyone's doormat. Its because of myself, really. If I'm not what I do for others..would I actually be anything at all?

In the end, most of the pressure that I put on myself, has come from MYSELF. If I had the courage to set my own expectations lower......

Btw, this ISN'T a post to complain about anything..its more a little retrospection on life itself; done in my typical fit of procrastination =P.

Its nice to be the one that everyone can be proud of. Its a nice, fuzzy feeling to know that you're making someone else happy..that people think of you as being trustworthy. Its nice sitting comfortably on the upper rungs of society's critical ladder of personal worth. However, I do wonder sometimes...

What if I'm not who I am now?

What if I'm a delinquent..what if I smoke and do drugs...what if I'm a dunce or a dropout?

I really wonder...what would life be, in that case? Would I be disappointing everyone, or would there not even be any expectations for me to fulfill? Would I expect anything of myself?

Sometimes, I just wish for a little getaway - where I'm not expected to get As, Distinctions, and High Distinctions. Where I'm not expected to be the goody-two-shoes. Where I can be myself, and not worry about scrutiny from family and friends. Where I can say "NO", without worrying about how it might impact my relationship and worth in a person's eyes. Where I don't expect anything of myself.

If I was flying all this while..I wish I can stop and rest for while in the sky...

~~~~~

Ah well, we can't have everything. Done with the "what-ifs". Now..BACK TO STUDYING!!!! All the best with your upcoming exams, everyone..=) =)