What is Involusion?

The concept of involusion, and I interpret it, is the difference between two identical points on identical graphs. Each point is the same place on each graph, but there is a difference between the graphs. In life, in society, in human behavior that I have observed, we have three views of ourselves. We see ourselves as who we are, who we want to be, and how others see us. I’ve found that often, the “person” we are is usually the person we have “accepted”, rather than how we would chose to define ourselves, or what we want to be. If you take anyone, ask how they saw themselves in high school, and then ask what they would like to be as they showed up to their 10-year high school reunion, you will usually find two completely opposite people, and the truth lies somewhere in between. I find this fascinating.



As I further studied this concept, I noticed that others, as well as my own self, have a dormant personality within us that is begging to get out. The more suppressed our inner selves are, the more depressed we become. The more we allow for both sides of us, our responsible side that has accepted a role in society, and our confident self that is who we truly want to be, run wild, the happier we are. So the concept, for me, was first seen with my wife, Holly.



As a mother of two, one born to her and one my son from a previous marriage, she plays the “Holly housewife” role well. She volunteers at soup kitchens, helps my son with his homework while I’m at work, cleans house, does everything a stay-at-home mom does. Yet within that simple life, within her domestic role, lies an untamed spirit. My wife and mother of my children has a resume that includes the MiG-29 and words I can’t even pronounce on it. Her resume experience rivals even my most experienced of peers. She has a model portfolio that is growing still. She’s become the confidante of my closest relatives. She’s thrown parties and events that at one time included 25 people at our house for thanksgiving from 5 different states from California to Michigan to South Florida. Yet day to day, she’s the simple housewife, making sure the kids are in bed by 8.



Now this dichotomy intrigues me. To bring both sides of one’s self into perfect harmony like that is truly amazing. The more I noticed this, the more I began to see the passion within people, dying to get out, dying to show the world their potential but left dormant or suppressed. It is then that I began writing music, because I began to see within my own self my inner “rock star” if you will. As I started writing, people began to identify with that concept. People began sharing with me who they were inside, not on the outside. I began to see that EVERYONE is eager to live to their full potential but are afraid, either from a verbally abusive spouse, sheltered home life, or even self-doubt. Yet they yearn for it to be drawn out none-the-less. And so it became my goal to draw out the raw emotions of my friends and family, the passion that had remained hidden for so long, and turn it into sound waves.



So that is what Involusion (spelled with an S rather than a T) is all about. Turning pure emotion into music. And it all began with one girl who showed me what can happen when potential is realized and not ignored. I married that girl.



-Jacob 

(Holly Willey, USAF Tech School, 2008)