During my senior year in high school, I had the pleasure of studying with one of my favorite teachers: Mr. Blek. He taught AP History and AP Economics, and was immensely popular, mainly due to the fact he swore in class and was the PA announcer at football games. But I liked him because he was the first teacher I ever had who didn't seem to view my intelligence as a threat to his existence.
I know you're smarter than me, Tittle. But if you're gonna pass this class, you still need to learn the shit I know.
And I did. I learned to love History as a living breathing organism, not a series of dots on a linear chart. That love served me well during my bright college years, blossoming into a full-blown romance in the hallowed ivy halls of university. But when Mr. Blek called me out, he wasn't taking me to task over history. He was talking about his passion. Economics. A subject that, for any number of reasons, I was not pre-disposed to understand. Yet, under his animated, and sometimes vulgar, tutelage, I learned to love that subject, too. More of a fleeting affair, really, but it lasted long enough to pass the Micro Economics AP test with the highest marks. A five. I fell a little short on the Macro Economics test, coming in with a three...good enough to pass, but not good enough to brag about.
You see, Macro is about the big picture, about how markets intertwine and about how economies rise and fall. To me, it seemed too impersonal, distant. Macro involved to much objectivity for the opinionated brain of a gifted 17 year old. Nope. Micro was more my speed. Down and dirty, in the trenches. Just the way I like it.
It should come as no surprise then, that I now make my living traversing the treacherous straits of micro-economies in Los Angeles. I am well-versed in the dreams and fears that businesses have. On a daily basis, I use terms like "soft costs", "bottom line" and "diminishing marginal returns". Mr. Blek would be proud. I learned the shit he taught pretty well.
I am getting better at Macro, too. But these days, it means something different. The Macro I'm learning is not about gazing at things from a high level. It is about getting very close, holding a camera very still and trying to catch a fleeting flash of flower looking spectacular. It my not be what Mr. Blek had in mind, but one thing hasn't changed. Every now and then, I capture an image that sends me a message I have heard before and will probably hear again:
You're pretty smart, Tittle. But you still don't know shit.
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