What Nanette Taught Me...✨

Hi Internet,

I hope you are doing well wherever you are in the world today 🌏

Before I begin today's post, I want to say that I know I promised to give y'all 3 posts this week. That will happen.

But the combination of the Melbourne heat wave zapping all my energy and general writer's block has just pushed this back a few days. Life happens guys, please bare with me 😣.

Anyway, no more senseless babble, time for today's post!

It's something different and surprisingly intense. I actually wasn't expecting it to turn out this way, but my creativity is always unpredictable. I like the outcome regardless. I hope you do too 💖

On the 1^st December 2017, I was moved by Nanette.

For those who do not know, Nanette refers to award-winning Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby’s final show ever. I’ll be honest – I usually don’t walk into things like comedy shows and expect to be profoundly touched in a philosophical, life kind of way.

But walking away from Hannah’s show, I was.

It wasn’t the kind of feeling where you suddenly feel the need to sell all your possessions and become a monk. It wasn’t that radical. It was subtle, yet strangely profound. A feeling I now realise I can’t really put into words.

In the show, Hannah weaved her way through a variety of topics. These included homosexuality, the most intensely meta conversation I’ve ever heard about comedy, putting Pablo Picasso on blast and stressing the importance of taking a nap before posting rants on Facebook.

There was a lot going on in this show. It was kind of a lot to process.

Perhaps more importantly, I learned some new things from my time listening to Hannah. But I was also reminded of some important things that I had somehow forgotten or hadn’t given much thought until now.

According to Google, Hannah Gadsby is 39 years old. Make no mistake, she’s been through some shit. More than any human deserves to in their life, if I’m being honest.

But what is truly remarkable about Hannah Gadsby is that she is all the more resilient, strong and defiant for it.

Her story is by no means easy to hear, and she doesn’t mince her words in telling you just that. But it’s an important story to hear if those listening learn or realise something.

Her honesty spoke to me, so I guess I fall into this category. Myself and many others I am sure.

I’m 19 years old. As Hannah mentions in her show, people around my age are nowhere in the prime of their life. I’ve still got a whole of living to do before I can make an accurate assessment of when I was actually in my ‘prime’. There’s still a whole lot of time for things to go right. But there’s also a whole lot of time for things to go horribly wrong. Let’s just say that I’m leaving my options open and taking one day at a time.

But what I do is that as long as I live my life with compassion, kindness and the belief that there is more to the world than just my perspective, I’m think I’m going to be a better human for it in the end.

My parents asked me why I wanted to see Nanette. I told them it was because I thought Hannah was funny. Trust me, she is. But that was only half the reason.

I wanted to see Nanette because I firmly believe in the power of perspective. I have my own perspective on humanity and life in general that comes from my personal experiences and influences. But that is not the only perspective that matters. Taking the time to find and listen to other people’s perspectives and hear their stories – that is when true human growth and enlightenment happens.

Nanette was a chance for me to sit and listen to Hannah’s perspective. The places she’s been, the things she’s experienced being who she is. I am grateful for the opportunity to hear someone speak their truth so passionately. It grows my mind and it grows my understanding of the world around me. What can occur in it – good and bad.

Towards the end of the show, Hannah talked quite reflectively about herself being in a position of power and valuing her voice as someone people look and listen to. My respect for her only grew in this moment because I don’t think enough people take the time to think about this enough.

To sit and think about what we put into the world as humans, and how we tell our stories. What parts we emphasis, what parts we ostracise, and what parts we just straight up make disappear.

Our stories matter because they are different. Our stories matter because there is something to learn from them. Sometimes it isn’t about a specific person, place or thing. Sometimes it’s more about a narrative, or a shared experience.

Just something to let someone else out there in the world know that they are not alone. They are not an anomaly.

There are connections between us everywhere we go. All we have to do is look.

Which means there is nothing more important than compassion and support. Through taking the time to sit down and listen to other people’s stories, you open your eyes to the trauma of others who do not share the same privilege as you.

Through taking the time to sit down and listen to other people’s stories, you learn to be a hand for to hold when someone needs another human to lean on. Who knows, you might just be the first.

Learning compassion for others is one of the most essential life skills in building a harmonious community. It has to be high on the priority list.

We can also do more in the compassion department, because you can never have enough. So, consider this just the passing along of a reminder to practice compassion. From Hannah, to me, to you.

Thank-you Hannah for telling your story. I promise to do my best to keep it safe.

As I finish writing this, I’ve realised that this piece wasn’t much of a standard review. I guess this wasn’t much of anything at all….

Except for maybe a reminder. A reminder to look for the life lessons in the strangest of places. It’s cliché but it’s true – you often find the most valuable things when you least expect to.

★☆★☆★☆★

I hope you enjoyed whatever that was. Just some thoughts/stuff I needed to get off my chest 💙 I appreciate y'all if you have gotten this far, because it was a lot 💜

If you want more of my words about certain things, remember to follow me at @miss_memphis98 on either Instagram and/or Twitter to keep up 💛

Thanks so much for reading,

Love and strong female comedians, Emily xx 🌟