Sucks to Know

Just wanted to reflect on something I've been dealing with. Maybe I will be more at ease if I write it down and get it off my fingers.

I've been involved with the Okinawan performing arts community since I was 2...that's pretty much my whole life. It's actually quite unfortunate that I never had many other hobbies outside of this community, but in reality, it's something I can really be a part of for the rest of my life. I feel like this, in general, has made me the person I am today, and hopefully that's a good thing? Anyway, it's been an interesting road to get here, but recently I have encountered that this community, and this life may not be the great, big, fun place I have thought it to be for a while.

I feel that there are a certain niche group of people truly working to perpetuate our fine culture, through performing arts, and then there are people who try to be great people by using the performing arts world. These people who may look like they care, are those that should be looked out for. It seems that there are these people who want to be "known" and are just using the performing arts world as a stepping stone to get ahead in life. I feel this is the wrong way to approach this world. These people are in actuality ruining the culture by just thinking they know everything, but really ruining things as simple as pronouncing a word correctly, or following a somewhat traditional protocol. It bothers me because as I sit here unknown to people, just seen as another person there at these events, and there are those who are really doing it just for the recognition of it all, just to be popular. It sucks.

It may sound that I am just a salty bitch who just wants someone to notice my efforts for once, but it goes beyond that: I WANT PEOPLE TO CARE! One of the biggest factors in Okinawan performing arts, or even Okinawan culture in general, is heart, and how much feeling you put into it. I cannot stress enough how much unrecognized heart I see out there, and it's a shame. It's not only me, it's a lot of other people, other people trying to perpetuate this dying culture that don't have a voice loud enough, or a wallet deep enough. It seems to me those two qualities are the things that people look for in recognizing the perpetuation of our culture.

So in closing, I leave this question open to anyone who can answer it truthfully: How can we perpetuate this fine culture, and stay true to the fundamentals it has been built on?