The Most Heroic Photo Of Myself Was Just Taken By Oliver Peterson

Over the weekend during Grillhampton, I was working at the front entrance and ran across my colleague Oliver Peterson here at Dan’s Papers. He was armed with an expensive camera and was snapping pictures of the event, and then he came over to me and said hello, then told me to strike a pose. I immediately thought of the movie Zoolander and as a joke, decided to make the most ridiculous “Blue Steel” face I could think of. I thought for sure that the photo would come out funny, but then today he e-mailed me the photo.
When I saw it, my coffee nearly spilled, not because it looks ridiculous, but because it looks heroic. The photo got me thinking philosophically about what we think we look like to others when we feel out of place. When I go to a lot of events out here, unless I’m around a lot of my friends, I usually feel a little nervous and uneasy. People tell me all of the time that I must have so much fun going out to Hamptons parties. The truth is that half the time I’m a little nervous or stressed, but to others it LOOKS like life is awesome.
This is true for a lot of things. There are a lot of things in life that look one way but are really another. I was a little shaken up when I read about the 31-year-old actor Cory Monteith being found dead in a hotel room. Whenever I saw that guy on the news or on the show Glee (yeah, I’ve watched it) I always thought to myself instantly that he was this clean-cut guy who is happy and had no problems. Of course, this isn’t true, but appearance is powerful.
So, just so you know, I’ll give you a little insider scoop: I’m not looking off into the distance in the above photo in preparation to save the world, I’m actually just thinking in my head, “Make a ridiculous Zoolander pose,” and the above was the result.
FYI, I’m working on a new look, but it’s not nearly ready yet.