I went snowboarding today, which was fun as always, but it had been a while (year and a half or so since my last trip) so I wiped out quite a bit. Bruising ensued. Ugh, it looks like someone spilled grape jelly on the inside of one of my buttcheeks. I’m going to write about something else now.

val?i?da?tion (n.)
?????An establishment of soundness; authentication. People who don’t believe in themselves look for this.

ver?i?fi?ca?tion (n.)
?????A confirmation of truth or authority. Those who believe in themselves seek this.

Subtle differences, indeed. The major contrast is between authentication and confirmation:

Authentication/acceptance is something gingerly given to you by a faceless company, a select group often formed mostly in your mind; you strive to fit their guidelines. Your level of success is determined on someone else’s scale.

Confirmation/support is almost always found in the least likely of places. It is the occurance of others sharing your beliefs, not agreeing in what you represent. It drives you, rather than pushes you.

It’s easy to confuse the two, since the differences are fairly minute. One’s search for either could be easily construed as self-doubt. However, those seeking validation are hedging their bets with little more than serendipity. Those seeking verification know that they can succeed, just that they haven’t yet.

My fantasies are often someone else’s everyday, and my reality is often someone else’s undreamt theory. You can’t see the heights I intend to reach just by looking up. And this is why I am unhappy.