In Defense Of Mediocrity
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In Defense Of Mediocrity

"All hail the underdogs"

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In Defense Of Mediocrity
Pexels

"This is a song dedicated to all the screw-ups out there," X Ambassadors lead singer Sam Harris said before introducing their song, "Low Life." His comment, followed by an almost unanimous applause, made me realize how so many of us view ourselves as second-rate, or mediocre.

In college, it’s easy to feel pretty ordinary. You’re surrounded by thousands of intelligent students with the same amount of academic background, smarts and drive as you. And then when it comes around to internship and job searches, it’s a level playing field. How do I stand out from all these other people who want this same job as me? My resume is as general as the appendix in a textbook. I’m just… average.

I think we often stress ourselves out for not going above and beyond. We get hung up on being good enough. We set expectations of success and are disappointed when we find we aren’t much better than our counterparts. It's a competitive world out there and when you feel like you don't bring much to the table, its easy to feel that being average is bad.

Not everyone gets recognition, and there’s no ribbon for participation, but maybe it’s time to give a little credit to the average Joe. Even when you feel no different from anyone else or feel like you have no particular talent or set of skills to put you apart. We all have our own accomplishments, no matter how big or small they are. We all live and breathe, learn and grow, try and fail.

Maybe its time to stop relating being average as being a failure. Like X Ambassadors' song "Renegades," long live the underdogs! We can't all be successful at everything we do and we're not all going to be recognized for our personal accomplishments, that doesn't mean we're losers. We can still be proud of ourselves for all the hard work we do and all of our minor victories.

Take this as a shout-out to anyone who didn’t get an award or recognition for academic achievements back in high school. To the benchwarmers and last batters, fifth chairs and ensemble cast -- you are anything but mediocre.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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