It is important to know and accept yourself for who you are. You can live an adventurous, fulfilling, and successful life by doing what you want, not by what other people tell you to do. I've been told more than enough times that "just be yourself" is such a cliche, but I truly believe that being your own person is the greatest way to experience life. Who wants to be told what to do all the time? Certainly not me. Aside from my parents' occasional requests to do chores and homework, I don't feel obligated to submit myself to anyone 's demands. And I prefer it that way. That's not to say I can't look up to someone and follow in their footsteps, I just follow in my own way to make it personal for me.
Some people may easily disagree, saying that the only way to be great or successful or even happy is to do exactly what another great, successful, happy individual has done. It may work sometimes, but would you really be happy if you were making a good living even though you hate your job? Probably not. Like my dad, he works hard and makes a good living for my family and he loves what he does, but just because he is highly successful doesn't mean I'm going to be a stock broker like him to make a lot of money. That job wouldn't make me happy. I can easily find a job that I love and makes me happy without living the mirror image of someone else's life. But I can use my dad as a goal for my own success. Talking to him about how he became successful can help me do the same in the future, without taking his exact course of action.
I recently went to tour colleges in Washington D.C. and Virginia over spring break. I loved everything about Georgetown, William and Mary, and University of Virginia. My aunt (who went to Georgetown) told me how hard you have to work to get in to those top-notch schools. Looking at her successful life, touring the school, and talking to current Georgetown students, I saw all the hard work it takes to be the best of the best. If I ever hope to attend one of those top schools, I will have to work even harder to make it happen. This doesn't mean I have to be the greatest student who ever walked through the doors of GBS, or have the most extracurricular clubs and sports, or even perfect test scores. That would be living up to someone else's expectations. I can work hard in school; getting good grades and test scores without being overly competitive. I can get in to a top school, but I will do it my own way. And of course my parents push me to strive for excellence, because being excellent makes them happy, but that doesn't mean I can't have my own personal freedom and time to do other things that make me happy.
All in all, it is crucial to find a place inside yourself that allows you to be spontaneous, happy, successful, or anything else that leads you along your own path. If it means telling someone "no" because you know it won't make you happy, then say "no". Don't get something you hate just because it's free, get the things you love instead, even if it means spending a little. When life throws you lemons, throw them back and ask for a fruit that you love.
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