“The trick to not feeling cheated is to learn how to cheat.” – Penelope, The Brothers Bloom
When I saw Penelope in The Brothers Bloom, I thought, hey, she’s a bit like me; she collects hobbies! (She’s even from NJ and had severe allergies a child.)
While I have many, many, hobbies, I certainly don’t juggle chainsaws. But I definitely relate to her point of view. The collection and practice of multiple hobbies is both an escape and a way to prove yourself.
People often ask me how I do so many things, but the truth of it is that all my hobbies are just coping mechanisms. I just feel cheated. This feeling comes often, but like Penelope, I have to trick myself into not feeling that way anymore. So, I keep busy and find the beauty in everything I can.
Penelope: This was a story about a girl who could find infinite beauty in anything – any little thing … I told myself this story until it became true. Now, did doing this help me to escape a wasted life, or did it blind me so I wouldn’t want to escape it? I don’t know. But either way, I was the one telling my own story. So no, I don’t feel cheated at all. – The Brothers Bloom, card trick scene
