Finding yourself in a world made for others
We live in a society where they expect us to fit a certain persona, a certain type, or a certain way of thinking, and if you break out of that mold, you’re seen as the weird kid. Even our clothes are made to fit a certain way, some clothes only come in a small choice of colours in each size, or sometimes the clothes are only made to a certain size. We’re supposed to “fit in” but that’s completely wrong.
“When the sun is shining I can do anything; no mountain is too high, no trouble too difficult to overcome.” — Wilma Rudolph
I learned that firsthand as I was growing up. When I was little, in Elementary school, I never fit in. I was always picked on, made fun of, and never had friends, mainly for the fact that was a big kid. I have health problems that limited me as a child to perform certain physical activities. I was never able to run the mile because I had heart problems, as well as bad knees, but kids always made fun of me, and my teacher never truly understood. The day that I tore my knee and got tendinitis in fifth-grade, everyone understood. It took for me to get hurt for people to understand why I was the way I am. To this day I still deal with those memories and they do beat me up mentally, but I’ve learned to forget about those things when I’m busy doing things.
As a child, I was very observant about everything. I was always focused on details, textures, colours, images, anything really. I remember vividly whenI was in the third grade, my teacher had a cold sore of some sort on her lip. Since I was observant, I pointed it out to her and she got really defensive and mad with me. She sent a letter home to my parents later that evening saying that I was disruptive and “extremely rude.” Of which, I had said it directly to her; I hadn’t stopped the class to say it, so I wasn’t disruptive.
Where I am going with this is, just believe in yourself, do what you want to do, break out of the mold created by society. Be a misfit, a rebel, a round peg in a square hole, do things that mean the most to you and have fun doing it. There is a quote that goes along these lines, a quote made by someone who I look up to when it comes to success, and he’s the founder of one of my favorite companies, Mr. Steve Jobs, CEO and Founder of Apple, Inc.
“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” — Steve Jobs
Some people think that being a round peg in a square hole is a bad thing... It isn’t. It means that you are open to new things, new experiences, different ways of seeing the world. It means that you are open to change, that you're not afraid to go above and beyond the confines of what society has set for you. Sometimes, being a “round peg in a square hole” might make you feel worthless, make you feel like an outcast, someone who doesn't belong, but the truth is, in my eyes, you are someone who seeks change, other ways of thinking, a creative, a visionary, someone who sees things just like myself, someone who isn't afraid to do things. You, my friend, are a very rare breed, keep going my friend, I am here with you on this journey called life.