# 264: Animators and Diversity
Believe it or not but my first, at least one of the first, job aspirations (in case I wrote about other professions before) was: animato, preferably in Tunisia or somewhere else in Africa. For years, this is what I wanted to be. I loved it. I would be outside all day, playing all kinds of sports, meeting people from different countries, speaking different languages, moving to a new country every season. Now, I wonder when exactly I stopped wanting this. I definitely know it was not just a fleeting star. Was it when I learned about “social hierarchies “ and “money.” Was it when I learned that people in universities earn the money to travel to expensive hotels where animators are their “servants”?
Or was is it simply that I found out that I would not have liked the job?
Which is not even true.
I would still like it!
All this current talk about diversity nowadays and a conversation this evening made me realize today that there is hardly any other job that is so “diverse” as the one of an amateur. And that is quite sad, actually. Our work world is so specialized and full of tiny niches that diversity is not the name of the game. That in turn makes us develop this flawed understanding of diversity which is only related to rainbow colors and equal opportunities. Yes, all this is crucial and valuable. Yet, diversity is so much more that nobody can see and companies would benefit immensely if they allowed their exmployees to bring all their talents to the table.
My Learnings
“Eine fundierte Allgemeinbildung und gute Umgangsformen sind trotz entspannter Urlaubsatmosphäre sehr wichtig.“ / “A profound general education and good manners are highly important despite the relaxed vacation atmosphere.” This is the thing that I remember very well about the animators in my childhood. They were sporty and open-minded but they were also smart, at least many of them. I am not only saying this because they spoke many different languages and I have a bias when it comes to this. I do remember that they could talk to many different people on eye level even if the guests had more money and technically paid for the conversations. But intelligenece is not related to any particular subject matter. You can sense it in people, even if you are still a child — I claim.
Still, the story told in this short sentence is even easier: The fact that you need a well-rounded general education cannot be separated from the fact that you deal with so many different people. This is what academics and many others still underestimate. Other people are your ‘universities.’ You read in their faces as you would from open books. And what they say, no audio book or YouTube channel can teach you that vividly and immediately. In addition, the people you meet in hotels are even more diverse ‘teachers’ because they come from so many different countries and they bring so many different experiences. Hence, you have to be either really stupid or really ignorant to not learn from them and expand your horizon.
Maybe I have already become an animator after all.
My volleyball is my pen.
My holiday resort is life.
Reflection Questions
1) What was your first career aspiration?
2) Would you be a good animator? Why/not?
3) What are the major sources of your general knowledge?