No, this isn’t another article about New Year's resolutions. This is an article about reevaluating the path you’ve laid out in front of you. It’s about asking yourself difficult questions. Why do you do what you do? Do you even know what it is that you do? Is it what you really, truly want to do? 

What do I do? I write. I started writing because I don’t want to be another brick in the wall that separates us from our own creativity. Unfortunately though, we built this wall ourselves. Our society has become complacent with the routine of shelling out workers with degrees in this or that in hopes that they will stimulate the economy long enough for the next generation of workers with degrees in this or that to pick up where they left off.

Thankfully, there has been a lot more emphasis placed in encouraging creativity and self-discovery in our youth nowadays. While this is all well and good, this hasn’t changed us very much at all. To be creative, artistic, curious and eager to learn is still looked down upon from a social standpoint. The business major will make fun of the music major, because that’s just how it is. I generalize, I know, but tell me I’m wrong. I don’t blame the business majors or their parents or even their parents’ parents. With whom I rest the blame is whoever established the social norm that to be weird is to be wrong.

What I mean by "weird" is embracing one’s creativity and passion even if it falls outside the boundaries of social normality. It means daring to do what really makes you happy, even if it’s impractical or unconventional. It means pursuing your interests, what really gets your juices flowing and your gears turning. I wanted to be a doctor, now I want to write stories. A lot of people might find that weird, impractical or unconventional. I did for a while, too. But as I sit here and type these words, my juices are flowing. My gears are turning like they never have before.  

This stigma of avoiding weirdness encourages us to fear ourselves and retract from our passions and desires. I’m not saying you should go out of your way to draw attention to yourself because you think you’re different. You aren’t that different from anyone, really. We’re all animals; some of us just hide it better than others. Those that make a conscious effort to show off their inner animal are attention grubbers and spotlight seekers. They have their place among the stars, but they fade more like a cheap flashlight. The key is to embrace and love your inner animal, not force it on those around you.     

I apologize if I’m being too metaphorical. It’s one of the many vices of a budding wordsmith like myself. What I’m saying is that there is greatness within people the world will never see because we are encouraged to fit a mold rather to cast our own.    

I didn’t always want to be a writer, but I always liked to write. I just didn’t think that being a writer would be practical. It wasn’t what people did. It was weird. I entered college wanting to be a doctor. I fit the mold for a doctor better than most. I’m an intelligent fellow, so I’ve been told, and I’ve always had an insatiable hunger for knowledge of the world around me. I began my lustful relationship with the human body and its physiological wonder as a boy and have unexpectedly slaked my thirst for it. And so, I’ve decided that my life’s work will not be a product of what I have learned. It will be a product of what I have to share with others about what I have learned. My opinions and insight, however unique or superfluous, will fade with my death if I don’t share it with people.    

I write because it helps me sift through the mental excrement sloshing around in my head and pull some meaning out of it. I think a lot — maybe too much. And I usually don’t have a clue what I’m thinking about, either. Writing helps me get a clue. Writing helps me make sense of myself. It’s a tool of self-discovery. It’s an avenue of self-exploration. I write because if it helps me, maybe it can help someone else too.   

So I challenge you to find out why it is that you do what you do. Ask yourself the hard questions. Make the decision that will allow you to lead a fulfilling life above all else.