RE: Secondary Character Energy
If you haven't watched Love At First Sight on Netflix, let me say I cannot recommend it enough. It is a perfect adaptation of a novel I loved as a teenager called The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith. The story centers around Hadley and Oliver, two young adults who happen to be on the same flight from New York To London, and the role fate plays in their budding relationship. While the nods are a little more subtle on the page, Jameela Jamel wonderfully portrays a personified–and quite sarcastic–version of destiny as she takes on multiple occupations, including flight attendant, bus driver and even generic passerby during the film's ninety-minute runtime. Jameela is the first voice the audience hears, and while she is more of an omniscient narrator than a secondary character, her role affected my worldview more than I anticipated.
There's a lot of discourse surrounding the idea of 'main character energy' or making sure you act like the main character of your own story. I created an entire blog around the concept, so I'm not really well suited to be the one who points out the cons of this way of viewing the world. I honestly don't think there are a lot. I can understand the most common argument–that the now popular outlook has led to a rise in self-absorption and egotism–and while I agree it is a possible outcome, I don't think tapping into your own Main Charcater Energy is at the detriment to those around you. For me, Main Character Energy is simply taking control of your narrative, realizing that the life you have chosen has value and is and of itself a story worth being told. All 7.4 billion people on the planet are the protagonists of their lives, whether they realize it or not, and every single story adds to those around it. In life, we all play both leads and supporting cast. Since I watched Love At First Sight, I have become increasingly aware of this unique phenomenon and am obsessed with it.
More and more, I have been noticing the moments in my life in which I play a secondary character for someone else. Sometimes, it's a more significant role, such as the one I took on for the girl who nervously told me she liked my dress when I was reading at Starbucks. We exchanged a few sentences before she ran out the door to meet her friends, who I could see waiting with bated breath through the window and who all started cheering and hugging her like she had scored the winning gold in the World Cup. I do not know if she was simply overcoming social anxiety or had a bit of a crush, but either way, I was happy to have been the cause of such a celebration. Other times, I get to be a mere observer, watching a group of teenage girls sprint full-on toward their bus, only to miss it and double over in fits of laughter or witness the tearful parting of a couple at the train station, rapt as the man hands the woman an envelope and makes her promise not to read it until she gets home, but to call once she does and to remember he loves her.
Life is happening all the time, both around us and to us. We are both star and extra. There is no true hierarchy of the narratives being written, none more important than the others that intersect it. I love seeing myself as the main character. I'm never going to stop, and I encourage everyone to try it, not just because of the confidence and ownership the outlook has given me but also because, without it, I am not sure I would have ever seen the beauty in being a secondary character in somebody else's story. It creates magic out of mundane, everyday occurrences, much like seeking out scenes that would be in a romantic comedy does. So, act like the protagonist you are, but enjoy being the supporting cast, too. It's just as valuable.
<3,
Sydney
