Change of Mind: Being Different

      There are billions of people on this planet, and we all strive for the same thing. As a society, we idolize the elite and strive to emulate their wealth and success. These were my beliefs, and I found absolutely no fault in living by these goals. I now realize that I used to have a very misconstrued view of the common goal of society. By experiencing the process of writing a short story and by analyzing the themes of the movie Once, I began to see it all differently. We should all embrace our individuality and strive to work off of those strengths, instead of trying to fantasize about unrealistic possibilities.

      Growing up, everyone is subconsciously and unknowingly fed these ideas that lead them to believe that life's goal is to be successful. I am not arguing against that; it's a fine goal. However, people attempt to reach this goal by being something that they are clearly not. I used to marvel at incredible businessmen and athletes and drool at their incredible stories. There are those who strive to be like Bill Gates, and bask in the wealth of the world. There are those who strive to be like Michael Jordan or Lebron James and dominate the court with an uncanny and other-worldly ability. I was no different. I grew up trying to be like my brother. He was so ridiculously talented at everything that I was interested in. Whether it was through art or music, I always knew his future was going to entail one hell of a life. But in those fields, my future was non-existent.

      I began to recognize the power of individuality when I was writing my short story. As I was crafting and shaping the narrative of my story, I was struggling on how to add pressure to my character. In my story, the protagonist had to somehow interact with a homeless man in order to learn more about herself. As I was pondering countless scenarios in which this interaction would occur, a sudden and random insight struck me. I was not limited in the paths I could take. It was my story. I could have the two characters meet on the peak of Mt. Everest if I wanted them to (although the setting was New York City...) I was the author and it was in my power to do what I wished. This insight allowed me to find what I believed to be a perfect scenario for the story, as it shed all limitations. This self-prescribed power was interesting to me. It was interesting because I knew that each and every one of my classmates had the same power, and they each produced a unique and beautiful story. It was quite impressive.

      Another influence in my change of mind was the movie Once. The thing that captured my interest was that fact that it was a love story that was so different than the rest. All of the raw emotion and feelings that the characters felt were fused with the music. It was a type of love story that I have never seen before, and it worked so well. I could tell that the movie did not have any feeble attempt to be like any famous love story in  history, but rather chose to set its own stage, and be drastically different yet equally astounding.

      The combination of the two insights led to my complete change of mind. Why strive to be so successful in the same tracks as someone who had previously struggled to make his own mark? Is that truly success? There is no thrill, no life worth living in a life with those goals. We must set our own stages, and each be elite in our own unique, and individual ways. There are billions of people on this planet, and we are all different people. Make the most of it.