<p>The question we all ask ourselves at one point or another, attempting to find the part of us that makes us unique…different…or just “not like everybody else.” It’s something I notice in everyone, not just teenagers, including myself. Why is it that we always attempt to draw a line between ourselves and “other ordinary people”?</p>
<p>I notice this in daily life, and not just school life. The means, routes, or tools may differ, but the end goal or desire is always the same: to achieve uniqueness, to be different. It doesn’t matter whether you’re unique as a result of positive or negative traits, it only matters that you’re not the same as the majority. A teenager who has nothing on his mind but going to the gym to build his muscles and make an attractive physique. What about something we’re very familiar with on CC? A scrupulous student who spends hours and hours of his time in more of an attempt to be number one academically, to be valedictorian than to gain knowledge and build a meaningful career and life. The popular girl who would delightfully prepare for school hours early just to make sure she stands out with her beauty. The teenager we are all too common with who has submitted to peer pressure and picked up smoking drugs because it’s “cool”, “bad”, and not everyone is doing it so eagerly. It seems that they’ve all taken very different routes, but in the end, they all seek the same goal.</p>
<p>But is this necessarily a good thing? Is it psychologically satisfying? Does it give any comfort? Or does it actually have a negative effect? What if one doesn’t reach his goal and sinks into the common population? Eventually, does it cause an obsession?</p>
<p>Because most people never really accomplish anything significant enough to be worth remembering. It’s almost instinctual to humans to want to survive their deaths somehow. It’s one of the reasons people have kids and pass on their DNA, one of the reasons people believe in afterlives, and one of the reasons people try to be different. They want to leave a lasting impression on the world. (For some people, it doesn’t even have to be a positive impression as long as it’s there.)</p>
<p>But I still believe in the modest people who seek nothing but spiritual guidance and peace of mind. In Tolstoy’s “How Much Land Does a Man Need?”, he describes how the life of a peasant exceeds the life of a landlord, in terms of happiness and serenity. Would it be better to live with mediocre ambitions and be satisfied with little? Or would it be better to constantly search for more and attempt to reach higher levels socially, economically, academically etc etc.?</p>
<p>Because society says x is good, or y is bad, etc. Smart=more money in the long run, usually. </p>
<p>I can see what you’re saying, the poor person is sometimes happier. BUT! What if the poor person IS smart, but just doesn’t get paid a lot, because they went after their passion, which was a low paying job, and didn’t care about money? That wouldn’t be a mediocre ambition. That, for them, could be all they want/need, because they are more concerned about doing what is right/good than money.</p>
<p>Look at Tesla, he was a genius, but is never mentioned as much as Edison because Tesla was about helping people and doing what was right for society, rather than capitalizing on his intellectual ability.</p>