The Morning Bun: Quick blurbs with a fresh take on our young professional lives that we would probably share over mimosas…if it were not a weekday.
Another day, another pop culture story I’m embarrassingly late to discover. This time, it’s the discovery of Maggie Rogers by Pharrell Williams (and soon thereafter, the world) in the Masterclass Youtube video. I was surprisingly deeply moved by the video, not just by her magnificent voice, but the reaction of Pharrell, of her, the teacher — the intangibles. To witness someone’s “big break” happening in real-time is truly a treat. When we read Wikipedia pages for some of our most iconic figures, we typically read about that one role or promotion that changed the game. That was the launchpad. This helped her turn a corner. Etc. Etc. We get the dialogue, but rarely the image, or even the video for this significant event. Lo and behold, Maggie’s serendipitous big break in front of soon-to-be millions of viewers was truly breathtaking. Seeing Pharell’s bewildered look as the song progresses takes you to Maggie’s eyes — how can you not feel immense happiness for this extraordinarily talented young woman inching closer to her dreams? It’s impossible not to.
I really believe in life-defining moments. I believe in them. I believe in epiphanies, powerful events, game-defining relationships, wondrous accomplishments standing above the pack as impactful in your life. Watching Maggie’s personal moment shows us is that even in an awfully cynical world, magical outcomes still exist. Fairytale endings are not completely fan fiction. If we put in the work, set ourselves up for that big break, and develop the conviction, it could be inevitably just around the corner. But only if you believe it’s close…and then get Pharrell to cry.
Harrison Forman 