People that inspire me - Dylan Shelton

There are 41 weeks left in the year and once a week I will write about someone in my life that is inspiring or motivating to me.  Hopefully others will read it and gain a little bit of inspiration in their life as well.  There is no particular order to these writings, just a bunch of people I am fortunate enough to know.  So without further ado ….

Inspirational person #10 of 50 – Dylan Shelton

Dylan Shelton is one of the funniest guys I know.

I go back to Ohio once or twice a year and I usually see a few friends and family while I’m there.  One of the people I always try to see is Dylan Shelton.  We graduated from Eastern High School together in 1993 and have been able to maintain a good friendship even though we haven’t lived anywhere near each other or even see each other with regularity.

We went to the “rival” junior highs of Russellville (me) and Sardinia (Dylan) before combining forces at Eastern.  I was athletic and slightly into other artsy type things.  Dylan was slightly athletic and way into all the other artsy type things.  If there was an extra-curricular activity he was going to be part of it.  He was a good hurdler in track, ran on a state qualifying cross country team, acted in plays, participated in the World qualifying Olympics of the Mind team … the list goes on and on.

Having different interests and being in different social circles, how did we end up being friends?  Humor.

I remember buying a book of David Letterman’s Top-10 lists and we laughed uncontrollably while reading it aloud.  Saturday Night Live became a bit of an obsession and the Monday chats about Chris Farley, Adam Sandler and Phil Hartman became regular.  In our senior year English class we had to do a project of anything we wanted and I made a SNL-type video of which Dylan was the main star.  Embarrassingly funny sketches of Wayne’s World, the Superfans and Deep Thoughts were just part of the hour long VHS I still have.

Fast forward two decades and I’m still doing my thing in the world of athletics and Dylan is still doing his in the world of arts as an actor and director at MadCap Theater in Cincinnati.  He also does improvisational comedy and other cool things that I try and catch whenever I’m back home.

More below but first …

I asked Dylan five questions, here are his responses …

Question 1:  What advice would you give the 15 year old version of yourself?

Dylan:  I would tell my 15 year old self not to take himself so seriously and to stay curious. Challenge yourself to read about religions and philosophies that you don't adhere to. Make friends with people that are very different from yourself, older people, younger people, people from different backgrounds, and people from different parts of the world. And, I would advise him to live in another country for at least a year before you turn 30. 

Question 2:  Where is the best place you’ve ever traveled?

Dylan:  The best place I traveled was to Florence, Italy. It connected me to a history that I found absolutely fascinating.  I loved its rich history of art, architecture, and culture. 

 

Question 3:  If money was no option, what would you do with the rest of your life?

Dylan:  Without concern for money, I would travel all over the world. I would take expeditions to remote places like Antarctica. I would buy a house by the sea in Spain and write plays, novels, and screenplays.

Question 4:  If your life was made into a movie, who would play you and what would the title be?

Dylan:  I think Jake Gyllenhaal would play me. The title would be, "Lucky to Die"

Question 5:  Who inspires you?

Dylan:  I'm inspired by people who go against popular ideas of the time to further advance society in some way. People like Galileo, or Charles Darwin in the field of science who were brave enough to follow the evidence wherever it would lead them even if it drew serious criticism. I also admire George Carlin who could satirize American culture and point out hypocrisy in politics and religion. I think he was way ahead of his time with his comedy.

Final thoughts … Why is Dylan Shelton inspirational to me?

Nowadays when we get together for an evening out, the main thing me and Dylan do is laugh.  And that’s what is inspiring to me about Dylan – he lives his life the way he wants and is having a blast while doing it.  Sometimes coming from a small country school like we did you can develop a bit of an inferiority complex with others from the big city but none of that has ever kept Dylan from success.  I watched him go onto college and never look back and it inspired me to do the same.

I feel like I am pretty good and allowing certain kinds of people into my life.  I am pretty selfish about my happiness at this point and won’t let negative or harmful people in my world.  Not only is Dylan negative or harmful, he’s the complete opposite - fun, creative, generous, not judgmental.

Dylan hasn’t had a perfect life, there has been more than a few bumps along the road, but it just goes to show if you are constantly striving to be great at what you do and are determined to do it eventually you’ll get there.  I know Dylan has a lot more to accomplish with his life and I am excited to see what he is into 10 years from now.

I imagine whatever we are both doing, we’ll get together, tell stories, make fun of each other and mostly laugh.

Thanks Dylan, you make everyone around you smile and laugh on a daily basis.  Keep doing what you’re doing and allowing me to crash at your place two or three nights a year!  See you in Wichita someday!