The Sunday Mail
Phoebe Nyashanu – U6 Westridge High School
A wise young lady once said, well, I said this morning, “Uniqueness is the intricate difference of a princess, the special distinguishable trait of a woman and the slight tint of perfection in a lady.” True this is, and like the law of the individual, no two beings are exactly the same.
Like birds in a nest just waiting to hatch, we sit and grow, just waiting to unleash our presence to the world. We wait to go out there and leave a mark. We wait to go out there and just be who we are, but, dear friends, what we may not realise is that we may actually never emerge. Why? Because we have not yet embraced what we have become to be confident enough to expose ourselves for all to see, admire and unfortunately, criticise too.
We keep ourselves locked in and away in the shell of society’s expectations. Naturally, inside our eggs, we grow, fed only what we need to know, told only what we need to know, told only what should be said.
It is society’s expectations, not our own, that we are told to fulfil. Too strong a claim? I beg to differ! How many times have we heard the words, “But what will people think? What will people say?” who are these people who have been given the right to govern our every move and action so as to please them and not ourselves? These are the things that happen every day in our lives and influence our every move, what people will think! The dreams of those around us are the ones we have to make reality. But while we may think we are doing well enough, the fact that the expectations, wishes and dreams that we are working towards are not our own, makes the essence of us being ourselves completely lose power.
We may then take a hint or two with a pinch of salt and finally crack the shell. We begin to receive a taste of what freedom really is, but sometimes, bound by the chains of suppressive sanctions of a stereotypical society, we stay inside, only a glimpse away from what, where and who we could be. We think of what we have been told, we see what others do, and we want to be just like that! But then, what happened to creating ideas no one has though of? Walking down a path no one has ever used? Flying against the wind instead of going with the flow? Instead of disbanding yourself and criticising what you originally are, take it and love it! Change the voices in your head, make them like you instead! Spread your little wings and break that shell!
The moment you break out of that eggshell and taste the freedom around, you know you were born for it. Waiting for the moment you finally fly! Even though you feed and depend on Mother Bird for a while, anticipation of the first flight takes you over. Finally you are pushed out of the nest, ready to o face the world. Above is the sky that offers you admiration, adoration and showers you with praises and below lies the deep gorge of cynicism, scepticism and criticism. You can choose to fly into the sky, or fall into the crevice which is, mind you, a whole lot easier! Or you could just decide to stay where you are, unnoticed, resting on your glorious laurels.
But, when you really are pushed out the nest, instead of seeing that bottomless pit you might fall and break in, discover the greatest opportunity to find the direction of your own wings and tip your wings to the motion of the current.
The moment you won it, you won’t be going with it, it will be going with you!
So who cares when the world thinks you’re wrong? Who cares if society feels you’ve gone against the norm? Who cares if people think you’re not ordinarily glitch free? No one!Uniqueness comes in so many different shapes, sizes and forms. You don’t know the importance of a paper clip or a staple until your papers are scattered around, yet it is just another piece of wire!The world we live in today is one full of colour and each and every individual has to create their own shade to avoid blending with the rest.
Remember, there is nothing extra-ordinary about hanging around the ordinary crowd, so if you want to fly, don’t play around with chickens!
So even if you have a heart of pure melting gold, or an iceberg where your heart should be, embrace it! Life is too short to go around pleasing other people! If you don’t fill your own shoes, then whose shoes? I really don’t care what people think, because whatever I find inside myself just waiting to be released, I don’t hide it, I EMBRACE.
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