When we are little, we are bombarded with ‘just be yourself’ and ‘I love you just the way you are.’ So we proudly march out to the bus on the first day of kindergarten with our Winnie the Pooh backpack and clothes that probably do not match. As we step into the elementary school, we see billions of kids milling around with their friends, and we think. ‘This is not what I signed up for. Where are my friends?’

Quickly, we learn to ‘adapt.’ We change to please people and make friends. I call this survival of the fittest. What our world categorizes as ‘succeeding’ is a multitude of ‘friends,’ a look similar to pop stars, and money. Maybe that is also what you categorize as success, but I believe there is more to it.

I have had many friends from middle and high school who have been taken and twisted by the grasps of society to become the ‘social norm.’ They believe they must conform to an idea of skin and bones, raccoon eyes, bleach-blond hair, and booty shorts to truly be ‘someone.’

But in reality, the someones are just that: someone. Not just anyone. People that I consider ‘not just anyone,’ or someones are those that go out and do something for themselves, be a first, do something different, and are not willing to conform to fit in. Those are the someones. They do not obsess over who is their friend and who is not. They do not concern themselves with seeming cool. They have the confidence to make their own decisions and be their own person.

My question to you is: how much of your personality is lost in trying to fit in?

We are born with certain quirks, some adorable, some not as much, but do we try to embrace these quirks or instead shrug them off? Personalities are to be embraced. They make us who we are. Our morals and personality are all we have of value. They are what we will be recognized and remembered for, not what brand of clothing we wore, or if we were up to date with trends. We have to remember what is going to stay with us for the rest of our days: what we do and what we say.

Someone who clearly has himself figured out is Apple figurehead Steve Jobs. This quote really embodies what we should strive to do. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

We are all different, but what we do with our peculiarities is up to each and every one of us. Are you going to stand out with courage or instead blend into the background, being just another ‘everyone else’? If you think rationally, we all fall short of being someone’s imitation.

We are best being ourselves. Not a carbon copy of anyone else.