The Rapture And The Pride

I thought I would contribute to the conversation once.
They told me I shouldn't engage in things of which I had no knowledge.
So, I decided to engage in the activity of which they spake.
They told me I should stop because I wasn't good at it.
They thought I was stupid for trying.
They said I couldn't have known what I was thinking.
So, I listened to them talk about it.
I listened to the haters.
I listened to the likers.
I listened to those who didn't care.
I listened to the subjective critics.
I listened to the objective critics.
I formed my first opinion.
I joined the conversation again.
They said my conclusion wasn't logical.
So I studied logic.
I learned how to argue.
I learned to think critically.
I learned to research information.
I learned how to construct sound conclusions.
I formed my second opinion.
I joined the conversation again.
They told me I didn't live in the real world.
They told me I didn't know of which I spake.
I told them I had experience.
I told them I had logic.
They told me I had no skill.
So, I did it again.
And I worked at it.
No matter how bad I was.
No matter how I hated it.
No matter how much effort it took.
No matter how it made me feel.
No matter how it changed my attitude.
No matter how angry it made me.
Then I joined the conversation again.
I used my logic.
I used my experience.
I used my skill.
They told me I had no talent.
They told me I had no perspective.
I went to find perspective.
I altered my perspective.
I was still angry.
I was still tired.
I was still fruitless.
Things didn't look the same.
I didn't react the same.
I couldn't sense it the same way anymore.
But I had perspective.
And I didn't care anymore.
I had no more opinion.
But I joined the conversation anyways.
They said I was better.
They said they would teach me.
So I listened to them again.
I watched them some more.
I did what they did.
I did it like they did.
I cared again.
I gained perspective again.
I gained experience.
I gained skill.
I set logic upon the shelf.
They said I had some talent.
They invited me to join the conversation.
I was one of them.
Then the new kid came.
The new kid joined the conversation.
We told him he shouldn't engage in things of which he had no knowledge.
Wetold him he wasn't good at it.
We told him he was stupid for trying.
We told him he couldn't have known what he was thinking.
We told him he wasn't being logical.
We told him he didn't live in the real world.
We told him he didn't know of which he spake.
We told him he had no talent.
We told him he had no perspective.
He became angry.
He became tired.
He became fruitless.
He didn't react the same way anymore.
He didn't care anymore.
We told him we'd teach him.
He worked at it.
He began to care.
He had talent after all.
We invited him to the conversation.
He became one of us.
Together we were content for a while.
My mind wandered.
I found things didn't make much sense.
I tried to figure out why things didn't make sense.
Something was off.
Something was out of place.
Something was unbalanced.
I couldn't remember my logic.
I couldn't deconstruct the relationships.
I couldn't identify the causes.
I couldn't identify the results.
I couldn't think about anything but the conversation.
I couldn't remember what I used to do.
I couldn't remember who I used to be.
I couldn't remember...
Anything.