Oftentimes, we as people find ourselves becoming one of the herd; we go along with the flow, take it as it comes, and at times may not even think about what we do as part of a crowd.
That is nonsense.
From all that I've learned about college, humanity, and life in general, it never pays to be one of the many. As students, friends, children, and even as adults, we must learn to stand away from the crowd.
Why, some might ask, should I put my neck on the line just to stand out? What good will that do me? they ask. There is no way to answer that question in its entirety, for the possibilities are endless. Never would I have expected to be a writer. The only reason I sit at this keyboard today is because a fellow writer encouraged me to put my words on the page and make my voice heard. Never would I have picked up a guitar before I challenged myself to pluck those strings; now, I can make music.
Look at your professors. All of them have written books, published papers, led classrooms, possibly even discovered things that your mind may not even be capable of comprehending. Maybe you don't like your professors, but look past that wall - you cannot deny the respect they command. And do you know how they accomplished so much? Do you see how they got to that point? Because they stood away from the crowd instead of in it. They pushed themselves to be more than the average human being, and found things some of us would never believe possible.
I could rant on line after line about heroes, about larger-than-life people, about individuals who make themselves heard. But standing out goes beyond those boundaries. You don't have to be larger than life to stand out; all you have to be is unique. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." Be not what is expected. Be yourself, be unique, be an individual. Be more than what you are known to be.
Every child dreams of being a rock star, or a superhero, or President, or some other great role that changes the lives of everyone around them. Children like that don't always understand what it means to be themselves, but we as adults know exactly what to do. No doubt, some of you have lost those dreams over time. Some of my dreams have diminished as I've grown older and more mature. But I've come to a realization: those dreams never had to die. Those golden hopes and shining aspirations are nothing more than the fruit of real-world endeavors whose undertakers were not afraid to be more than what their peers expected them to be.
So, reader, dream big. Be a little crazy. Do things other people wouldn't dare to do. It is by doing those things that one truly finds his individuality. I urge you again to find who you are in this world, not by being what you are supposed to be, but by being what no one ever thought you would.
