Learn to Laugh
Being Your True Authentic Self in a World of Posers
Being your authentic self is about embracing who you truly are without fear of judgment or societal expectations. It's a journey of self-discovery and acceptance, where you acknowledge your strengths, weaknesses, passions, and quirks. Authenticity involves being honest with yourself and others, expressing your thoughts and feelings genuinely, and living in alignment with your values and beliefs. When you embrace your authentic self, you exude confidence and radiate a magnetic energy that draws people towards you. By being true to yourself, you cultivate deeper connections with others who appreciate you for who you are, rather than who you pretend to be.
On March 18, 2024, I published a post entitled “Mystery Beer Monday” (aka, the “Brewlette” Challenge) on all of my social media accounts (TikTok, IG, Facebook). During these reviews, my wife (or fan) purchases beer singles and wraps them in foil before I ever see what lies beneath the wrap. I randomly select one of the wrapped beers (currently I have at least 10 in our garage fridge) and then accept the challenge to identify what style, or even specific beer, I’m drinking by only using sight, smell and taste. Sometimes I’m pretty spot on, but other times maybe not so much. The March 18 review was one that would be an example of the “not so much” category. If you haven’t seen it, I promote you watch it here on Instagram:
Now if you continue to read without watching the actual review, then you can’t be mad when I share the following spoiler: My guess was that I was drinking was a dry hard cider (akin to Angry Orchard Green Apple), when in actuality I was drinking a Miller Lite! :D How did I get here, and what mistakes did I make:
1. There’s an organic chemical compound called “acetaldehyde” and it only occurs in light beers under stressed fermentation. The results is an aroma and flavor of green apples. Sometimes it's described as “oxidized apples” or “acetic cider”. With that said, anyone who poured a clear golden carbonated beverage with a green apple aroma would’ve agreed with most of my assessment.
2. What I missed was the frothy head that was produced during my “Mosher Pour” (another topic for another newsletter). A hard cider would’ve never produced such a high frothy head, but my nose was so convinced that this was a hard cider that my brain didn’t even process what my eyes were witnessing! Just shows you how flavors and aromas can affect the simplest of beers.
3. Lastly, and unbeknownst to me, the gold top of the can was clearly visible and apparently this is a dead giveaway for Miller Lite. Apparently I am the only beer drinker in the world (or at least in the world of social media) that didn’t know this fact. I can honestly say I can’t even remember the last time I purchase a case of Miller Lite (not an editorial comment, just a simple a matter of record).
During the big reveal at the end of my video, my verbatim reply with much chagrin was:
“Boy I missed on that one big time… Fuckin’ Miller Lite!
Wow! Do I suck or what??!!”
Now clearly I missed the mark – 100%! I thought my comments at the end would make that clear. But the barrage of negativity was astounding. I know: “it’s social media, what were you expecting?” But I so enjoyed collecting and reviewing over 2400 comments on TikTok and IG combined. Allow me to share some of my personal favorites:
@foozer300 (13 followers / 2 posts): Just cancel your page. You know shit about anything [Probably true.]
@calubhackney (1247 followers / 0 videos): Fucking chode this guy is so stupid. It was Miller highlife from the get. [I guess he was so busy criticizing me that he misspelled the 4-letter word “Lite” or just guessed wrong himself after actually seeing the reveal!]
@belled_um (340 followers / 1,175 posts): You are so bad, I would never follow. Ridiculous that a Lite Beer you tasted as a Cider. Good luck in obscurity. [I’m still unsure why the random capitalizations throughout his sentence fragment. Might use his social media royalties to get some Kumon tutoring in his free time.]
@thedickings (101 followers / 65 posts): fucking L lad [Short, sweet, and to the point.]
@FLdream (3 followers / private acct): Don’t quit your day job… just quit whatever this was [Apparently, I have a lot more beers to review before I can safely quit my day job.]
@Masgeti&Schmeatballs (52 followers / 0 videos) Oh. So you don’t know shit? [Agreed! The more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know fuck about shit! - Thank you Ruth Langmore!]
@THE ROLL-UP (118 followers / 10 videos): lol hahaha delete this page [Pretty harmless actually.]
@thebigoneblockaButta (58 followers / private acct): Dude da fuck it looks like beer guys an idiot [Clearly, I’m the idiot here.]
I feel like I’m living a Ted Lasso moment, specifically when Ted confronts Rupert (the antagonist and vindictive former owner of the team) after the two placed a significant wager on a game of Cricket (darts). Lining up to take what would end up being be the final turn at the board, Ted has 170 points remaining compared to Rupert’s 10. During this final volley, Ted shares the following life perspective:
“Guys have underestimated me my entire life and for years I never understood why – it used to really bother me. Then one day I was driving my little boy to school, and I saw a quote by Walt Whitman, it was painted on the wall there and it said, ‘Be curious, not judgmental.’ I like that.” (Ted throws his first dart, scoring a Triple 20.)
“So, I get back in my car and I’m driving to work and all of a sudden it hits me – all them fellas that used to belittle me, not a single one of them was curious. You know, they thought they had everything all figured out, so they judged everything, and they judged everyone. And I realized that their underestimating me – who I was had nothing to do with it. Because if they were curious, they would’ve asked questions. Questions like, ‘Have you played a lot of darts, Ted?’” (Ted throws another dart, scoring his second Triple 20.)
“To which I would have answered, ‘Yes sir. Every Sunday afternoon at a sports bar with my father from age ten until I was 16 when he passed away.’ Barbecue sauce.” (Ted throws a double bullseye to win the game.)
In this relatively small, yet spectacular failure, I’ve added nearly 20K followers between both platforms where I haven’t had anywhere near that impact in the past 12 months combined! In true social media fashion, you can step to the plate and hit 100 home runs in a row and it barely generates a ripple of interest; but the second you grip it and rip it and swing with all your might and totally miss the mark and fall flat on your face in spectacular fashion, the world will show up to laugh at you and point out how bad you really are! Just remember to proactively remedy that situation by being the first to laugh at yourself in that process and always remember the famous words of the immortal Taylor Swift:
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
And that, my friends, is a real life example of being your true, authentic self. Best of luck to you on your journey of life! Take what you do seriously, but never take your self too seriously and you’ll do just fine.
Cheers, Salud, Skol, and Prrrrrost!!
Mike
Follow @mikevsbeer on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube for the some of the most entertaining beer reviews on this planet!