| OriGinAlitY |

We often get so caught up in our own lives and in the heat of a moment that we forget there are other people who function in the same ways that we do - similar thought processes, similar reactions, similar perspectives. We forget that it's okay to be different. And we forget what it's like to walk a mile in another's shoes.                 ~~~

Footprints in the sand. - Outback of the Northern Territory, Australia

In today's society, people are more concerned about the latest trend, who their best friend is dating...thinking about themselves rather than others. So many times throughout a week, I find people putting others down, taunting one another because of one's musical preferences, food choices, clothing styles, what have you. We've lost the respect that we once had, not only for our elders, but for each other. It's a common problem I see more in teenage/young adult life and is seeming to grow rapidly as time progresses. People have become so hostile towards each other, defending themselves when comments and opinions are flung their way. We discount others' feelings because it won't directly affect our own. Yet, in a world where everyone's trying to change you, being you and being different is the best thing you can do for yourself. I think more people should live by the quote, "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." - Henry David Thoreau. If I've learned one thing over the past 5 years, it's to be who you are and not let others get to you. As Bernard Baruch would say, "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." There's so much truth in these statements. Life is a personal matter that everyone gets to experience and cherish in their own way. Don't let someone else's definitions and expectations mold who you are, your thoughts and actions into something that isn't genuinely you. Life's too short to just waste away by following someone else's commands. Live for yourself...live for the moment. Live for right now, because nothing is ever certain.

Cirrus clouds over the St. Francis Quadrangle with a touch of fall.
- University of Missouri - Columbia

Time passes too quickly to let the world tell you how you should be. There's not enough time to keep up with the current fashion trends, to go to every popular music group's concert, to cry over the person that doesn't love you back. Being yourself and doing your own thing in a world that pulls you in different directions, tests your limits and tries to mold you into something you're not makes it difficult, but it's not impossible. Find the courage to break away.
I've never understood the push for normalcy. The constant need for homologous-ness, if you will. If variety is the spice of life, why aren't we celebrating that? Why do we not encourage and nurture our specialties into something that betters the whole? No one ever stops to take a second glance anymore, that's why. Take time to stop and smell the roses. Anymore, differences are noticed for a moment, then suppressed and classified as "weird" or "not normal." The variety that tries to break out is quickly silenced. It's frustrating, to me, that we're encouraged to be ourselves and to be different; yet, the world has so many predetermined roles and stereotypes that we're forced to try and fit into. It's hypocritical. It's unrealistic. It's infuriating. What this world needs is more people who don't care about fitting into those molds, who love running against the grain and who aren't afraid to be themselves. We need people who are accepting and encouraging of differences. After all, variety is the spice of life...without it, the world loses it's special touch.