Transformation is the theme of the January themed collection, the final themed collection at that.
I consider transformation and growth to be overall positive concepts, and yet there is no rule that says you have to transform or grow into a better version of yourself, just a new version. The theme I am exploring has more to do with transforming into your ultimate self. What that looks like really depends on who you are as a person, or in this case, who they are as characters.
The themed collections have a recurring storyline first revealed in the first collection from October. The White Lily Escapees were psychologically conditioned to kill because the experiment was designed to prove that not only can you create a monster, you can deconstruct that monster back into a functional human being. Only the first half of that hypothesis turned out to be true – you can certainly create killers, but getting them back to who they were before was never possible.
The White Lily Escapees have swept across the nation in the past few months, and transformation season for them is truly about becoming the very best killers that they can be. The ultimate version of themselves at this point is inhuman.
This storyline is not the only storyline in the collections, however. There will be at least one other separate and self-contained short story in each collection that fits the theme but has nothing to do with the continuing storyline from White Lily. The poetry in each collection is told from the perspective of murderers, but does not necessarily have any continuing themes beyond the theme of the collection. Some are whimsical, some are gory, some are downright disturbing, but none are related.
The theme of transformation and growth for the poetry and the separate short story may toe the line of positive and negative. Not all of the characters involved are trying to evolve into the ultimate killers like The White Lily Escapees. Some want to grow in other ways, meaningful ways, like finding love, starting a family, and forming friendships – none of which are easy tasks for psychopaths. Finding connection with others like them and beginning a new life together is extremely important to some. Finding the purpose in their lives is something some desperately seek. Making changes for the better, despite the irony of them being cold-blooded killers, is also something that will be explored.
In real life, transformation and growth are equally relative concepts. They are generally considered good, but they may not be changing you into what one would consider a good person, just into more of who you want to be. From an objective or moral standpoint, that may not be the best thing. But ultimately, that depends on what you value.
For instance, if you value morality, goodness, purity, connection, love – you will want to transform yourself into a person that would likely be considered good by most. However, if you value power, influence, money, satisfaction, fame – you will want to transform yourself into a person that would likely be considered selfish or even bad by most.
Does that mean that you need to value things that are considered ‘good’ in order to be your best self? Not necessarily. If you struggle with the concept of goodness, you can end that struggle one of three ways: you can live your life in a way that makes you appear good despite not necessarily enjoying yourself, you can live your best life the way you want and still do good things for others, or you can roll with the fact that being your ultimate self means that you put yourself first all the time and stop caring about the judgment of others. You can still do great things without being an objectively good or moral person. You can change the world and be the most selfish person on the face of the earth. It truly depends on what you want to do, how you want to use your abilities, and how you define ‘making an impact’. The concept that you have to be a good person to be a great one is simply untrue, but both have perks.
This new year, I have been taking a look at what I think my ultimate self would look like, and trying to move in that direction. I am trying to live within the gray area, where there is a balance between what is morally good and what is good for me, personally.
My ultimate goal for the new year and my ultimate self both rely heavily upon the concept of balance. Being objectively good all the time is exhausting when it is actually possible, and being objectively self-centered makes me feel icky. I want to find a way to travel between the two depending on the circumstance and make the best decision possible for myself and my loved ones in every situation. Sometimes that may mean being the selfish one. Sometimes that may mean being charitable and warm.
Whatever direction you choose, may you become your ultimate self, and wear your new self with pride.
