Dare to be Different!!

So I wrote this piece for a youth magazine a long time ago, thought i should share it with you all! TGIF!!!

Have you ever had to learn a new slang, or worn an outfit that you were not even comfortable in, or drank alcohol in order to blend with the crowd, or go with the flow or just simply to belong? Well, we all have. Some of us more than the others, but we have had to do things, that we see others doing so we can “belong” or be among the “in” crowd. Being “cool” or “crested” is fine, as long as we still remember who we are in the midst of all the “blending in” we do.

For instance if you don’t talk with a foreign accent; American or British(faked most times)you’re not considered “cool”, if you don’t use slang like ”tight” or “wicked’ or ‘fresh” you’re considered old or not current. The problem with belonging or being current is that it scrapes away the very fragment of individuality or uniqueness that such an individual possesses, leaving a bland, boring person. The truth is that most of us have forgotten who we are or who we can become, we cannot be anyone except we are imitating someone else, and this is pathetic.

Every individual was divinely created with such distinct, quality and potentials to help humanity; the loss of this uniqueness may be the cause to most of our societal problems today, which we are so quick to blame on the government. Have you ever sat down to ask yourself why you were born? What purpose you will serve in this world and how? Trying to blend in and be like everyone else is not serving that purpose, I mean yes, we must try to be educated, obey the laws of the land and pay our taxes (I’m sure most people have NEVER paid taxes all their lives!) and utility bills, but how about inventing something that will help the society instead of just complaining like everybody else? How about speaking up, for the weak, taking a stand against exam malpractices, keeping your environment clean by not littering the streets with pack of the Gala and “pure” water you had for lunch, how about that? You don’t have to invent a light bulb(but if you can invent one that doesn’t use electricity or batteries, by all means DO!) or be the first in your community to fly an airplane to be different, start by being the first to graduate, or the first among your friends to say “no” to drugs, or the first to walk away from that cult war(it isn’t really worth it, really!) or the first to stop “blocking”(paying the lecturers to pass you, haba!) those courses you didn’t study for because you were busy partying…just do things different, start small; think differently by dreaming big for yourself, study harder, wear those shoes that are comfortable instead of the fashionable pair that you almost cannot walk in, learn to see things from other’s perspectives (except yours only!) and please, quit blaming the government for everything; from  the bad roads(which is partially their fault, no be lie!) to your failing grades, just dare to be different!