What Inspires You to Be Confident, to Be Yourself

It feels like the expectations placed on me keep growing. My parents, friends, peers all have this vision for my future, but I don't see it. Everyone my age is doing their best to conform. Why? Why fit in when you are unique? When you naturally stand out? The only way to truly make an impact in this world is to set your own expectations and follow your own rules. Children have an exuberant imagination. As they grow up, their ideas for the future are limitless; baseball player, astronaut, ballerina. I've been thinking, what inspires you to have confidence to be yourself?

As we grow older, our imagination gradually diminishes as society tells us which activities are realistic and which are not. Why can't I be a ballerina? Nothing in life is permanent, but why can't my imagination be permanent? As a typical teenager, society is constantly telling me what is right and what is wrong. what I can and cannot do. We are given enormous potential, it is within us. When we begin to accept and love ourselves for who we are, we can understand our true potential. So go ahead, become a ballerina, throw that pitch as fast as a marlin, the only thing stopping you is yourself. Passion is the fuel that makes life worth living. It creates energy, encourages us to do things outside our comfort zone and inspires others. If you are passionate about a job or hobby, pursue it, hold on to your imagination. You set your own limits, you have your own expectations.

Mohandas Gandhi was the leader of the nonviolent Indian independence movement against Great Britain. He inspired and led protests against discrimination and for economic empowerment. If Gandhi had followed the expectations of those around him, the world today would not be the same. Gandhi risked his life to save the lives of countless people in India. As we remember Gandhi's birthday on October 2, the world celebrates this day as International Day of Nonviolence. On this day we are given the opportunity to reflect and reevaluate our own lives. It gives us an opportunity to see what else we can do to change our lives as Gandhi did. It is our starting point. We have wonderful potential. So why waste your high school years smoking or drinking? Why not have fun with people who really care about us? This is our future, and right now we are deciding what we want to do with it.

As Gandhi once said, "Live as if you will die tomorrow, learn as if you are destined to live forever. "Life is too short to focus on the negative things in life. Appreciate precious things, look to the future and avoid resentment. So little time, why waste it on proving your worth to others. Use this time to prove to yourself that you are worth something. This is your moment, your future. So why try to be someone else? Be whoever you want, live your life however you want. No one can tell you who you should be, no one can tell you what you are worth. Be who you are and say how you feel, because those who object don't matter, and those who do matter don't object.