There have been number of times in class during my University days (God i make sound so long ago) that i have been asked to look at something from a different perspective. In all honesty i have never found difficulty doing so. Being employed now and having stricter rules applied on such a free-driven soul feels like I have a new set of chains slapped on my wrists and a metal collar around my neck strangling the air out of me. The air of idealisticness... the air of a utopia-like system.
Working these past few months i have realized that ideals account for nothing because everyone is so comfortable the way things are. No one wants new change even though the change might be good. Being employed has showed me that the working world wants us to be mediocre, to be not more and not less. The working world has told me that they need plain individuals to do nothing about the current status quo. But i refuse.
What lies beyond the horizon for me as i have found so many times in my past is the same question i have yet found the answer to. Dare to be different? or blend in? Average Joe or idealist extraordinaire? Mediocre or A foot above the rest? All my life i have always tried to pick the latter. Wanting to make a difference no matter what.
That road that i have taken has led me to numerous accounts of pain, disappointment and anguish. Sometimes even to the point of desperation to change the world accounts on what is today labeled as "the way things are"
Words that dim my heart and drowns my soul includes -
Why swim against the current?
Keep your head down...
Keep your thoughts to yourself...
Ignore it...
To name a few...
A lecturer of mine once said that "The generation you live in today, celebrates mediocrity. Their basic foundation is based on the fact that they need not the extraordinary, the great nor the amazing, what they need and want is silence and obedience. There will be a time in your life when you will find that the world beats you down, kicks you, until you admit that you are helpless..."
Its true, having only worked for a few months, most would say that I have no idea what i am talking about. But let it be... let me say this as a reminder to those share my ideals. To those who still believe that a small gesture might just change the world, a reminder for the idealist who needs hope to believe that there IS change beyond the horizon, not just another dead end world which we are all condemned to. A reminder to those who will come out swinging so they'll keep trying and keep swinging.
I refuse to bow down to the levels of mediocrity. I refuse to accept the mediocre world we live in today is all we have to look forward to. I refuse to believe that we cannot change it. I refuse to believe that ideals will only remain ideals.
I will keep my passion. I will keep my enthusiasm. I will take the punches and the kicks and ill keep on swinging. There is no point in living if im living to standards set by mediocre individuals in an effort to distort greatness. I know that one day, if i keep holding on, my generation will come to back me up. Individuals with my ideals will come and join me. Our numbers will grow and our voices will be heard. The generation of intellects that will put above all else the importance of holistic individual development. The generation of idealist so significant they measure to other idealist such as Socrates and Plato.
To those fighting the good fight, keep your spirit. Dont let the working world beat you down and sink you to mediocrity. Remember the words -
"We are all meant to shine as children do.
It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own lights shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."
As our light dims, hold on to it, let shine even if slightly, and one day, when we find our place, we will be the beacon of light that guides souls to amazing-ness. One day we will all become stars that help navigate and guide way to something more. THE END
