The GeekHiker

Someone today asked me a rather interesting question: how would I define myself without making any comparisons between myself and other people.

It’s a fascinating question.

I have to admit, though, my first thought was that this was an insane question to ask here in LA.  After all, living in Los Angeles is all about comparing yourself to other people.  It’s why people in LA are so obsessed with what you drive, what you wear, who you interact with, etc., etc., etc. on down the line.

If all that were to end, all the marketers here and in New York might just loose their meaning in life, and we can’t have that, now can we?

I don’t tend to fall in for most of that crap (or least I try not to), I think because I grew up in Northern Californiarather than Southern.  I wear jeans and a t-shirt because they’re comfortable, dammit, and I don’t really give a damn if I meet up with anyone’s “fashion standards”.

But back to the original question: it’s a difficult one to answer.  I mean, think about it, how do you look at your life, and who you are as a person, without comparing yourself to someone else, be it your parents, your friends, your peers, your co-workers, or that asshole in the next cubicle who sleeps all day and still gets paid more than you do.

Part of it may be the nature of human society; we interact with our fellow humans every day, so I think we end up comparing ourselves to each other by default.

And that, my friends, is what makes the question worth thinking about…