It’s really lonely and hard to be an outlier. To feel as though what you believe, how you feel and how you have come to view things is not comfortably accepted or shared by those around you- especially when you’re starting this chapter of branching out from what you’ve known for the past few years or accepting that you’re growing and changing from how you’ve naturally always been.
But the truth is, there comes at least one point in your life when your faith will lead you to an empty island and you will quickly second guess everything you thought you were sure of. For example, deciding to take time off from the expected four years of undergrad, or deciding not to take a well-paying job so you can travel around the world with a free clinic for a year struggling to make ends meet, or finally deciding that what you’ve been studying or working towards all of this time actually doesn’t excite you. So after having realizations like these, what are you left with? A deep sense of fear, uncertainty and doubt.
Take a deep breath.
Your feelings, thoughts, dreams and passions are yours. They deserve to be embraced, nurtured and especially protected. If you won’t fight for them, no one will. If you won’t stand by them, they will disappear. If you won’t follow through with them, you are doing an injustice to yourself and this world. There are approximately 6,963,714,069 people in this world and you are bound to find people who share your perspectives and goals, but until then, stand strong, fight for what makes your reality real, and most importantly stay true to who you are.
After all, some of the most influential people today took chances. Steve Jobs for example is one of the greatest innovators of our time and he dropped out of college after one semester. He proved himself not to be inadequate or incapable. He just decided to take another path, one that he created himself and ended with his co-founding of a multinational corporation, Apple.
“Believe with all of your heart that you will do what you were made to do” – Orison Swett Marden
So, here is to reaching high, chasing dreams and acting on what you want, feel or think you need. Remember: everything is tentative until it actually happens. So go, and do. There’s no time like the present.
I believe in you.
S.K.
