Some people want the spotlight. To be famous, viral, or a shining pillar of the community.
At their funeral, they want rows and rows of very important people looking dignified.
But I don’t.
I would rather be Someone than famous.
Why Someone is Important
There’s only one Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, or Mark Zuckerberg. (We can thank our lucky stars.)
You can draw your own conclusions about why they’re famous. A face, an ability to fail upward, or ruthless capitalism in the face of friendship.
They aren’t famous because they’re good or trying to be. They’re just humans, like everyone else. But they have a pre-written obituary newsreel waiting in a storage room.
And most Someones don’t.
There are literally billions of Someones alive right now. And before and after.
We don’t know their names. Their pictures won’t be plastered on TMZ or your “for you” page.
But they create twinkling ripples around them. Stronger than stellar tsunamis.
Not the Heroes We Need, But the Heroes We Deserve
Yes, the quote is about Batman… but it’s really about us.
Society is a reflection of every person in it. Flawed and corrupt, kind and caring, or flailing and reaching between the two.
All at the same time.
An influencer films himself giving a homeless person $100. A community organizer you’ll never hear about, taking two steps forward and one back.
Gotham is violent and cynical, so they get Batman — not buttoned-up, poster-boy Superman.
Because Gotham’s Someones are violent, their hero is too.
But Batman doesn’t kill. Because Alfred Pennyworth and Commissioner Gordon and Leslie Thompkins are Someone. Shining their light at him.
Demanding to be reflected.
Even if (or maybe because) their name doesn’t show up on the cover art.
A Good Deed in the Dark
Millions of people act as helpers every second of every day.
Without an expectation of reward, or a place in history, or even a thank you.
“Someone shoveled my sidewalk.”
“Someone paid for my order.”
“Someone opened the door for me.”
Think about the last time Someone did something for you.
It mattered.
It made your day. You told other people about it. And you smile when you remember: Not the name, but the feeling.
Because that feeling represents the best of us on our best day.
Healed and hopeful, with the time, energy, and resources to show care and kindness.
That’s the kind of Someone I want to be. On as many days as I can.
The Famous Someones
There’s only one Greta Thunberg. One singular Dolly Parton. One tenacious Jane Goodall.
Not famous on purpose, but famous with a purpose.
Greta won’t take inaction for an answer about climate change or human rights. (Free Palestine.)
The Book Lady, Dolly, gave hundreds of millions of books to children in honor of her father who never learned to read.
Jane named instead of numbered the chimpanzees, and showed that caring for nature starts with caring for the humans who live with it.
If you have to be famous, be this kind. (Pun intended.)
In Spite of and Because Of
We can’t all be our best selves every moment. We can’t control the world — we can barely control our fragile human bodies.
But when the stars align, we add to that tsunami of care. The one that changes Gotham.
Not for glory. Not for clout. Just because.
Because it’s who we really are. Underneath the fear, scarcity, and hurt that threaten every moment of every day.
Dearly Beloved
(Imagine the room filled with everyone you’ve ever helped.)
We are gathered here today, to remember Someone who cared and tried and did what they could.
Who created little moments of love that rippled out into the world.
Because, they believed, you shouldn’t have to earn kindness. Or even deserve it.
And each of those moments caused a pause and a smile and a spark of light. Igniting another Someone out there in the anonymous crowd.
A signal that the world isn’t so dark. But rather brimming with infinite constellations of lucky stars that only appear because…
We’re all Someone. (Or we can be if we try.)
Words About Stuff by Amy the Copywriter | Art by RAD Studio