Curiosity is much too often linked to adolescence, this is a problem. As a child everything seems interesting, you want to touch all objects (sometimes putting them in your mouth), you experiment with different personalities such as a superhero or a hobbit and tamper with what’s good and bad, yet at a certain age this stops. Every child becomes a teenager and right around that time they are more susceptible to being influenced by other things, than any other time of their life. We are told school is good; it will get you a good job, you aren’t smart unless you have above a 3.5 grade point average, activities such as sports and performing arts are just hobbies and won’t get you anywhere in life, and that if you follow the path provided for you, you will live a happy and successful life. This could be true for some people, but, without sounding cliché, everybody is different so shouldn’t every person have a different path?

For a second I would like for you to picture yourself as a triangle, you have always been a triangle, and you wish to enjoy your triangle life. One day you are told that though you are a triangle you must fit through a circle peg hole. No matter how much you think “well isn’t there a triangle peg hole?” everyone around you is telling you otherwise. Every day you come to this circle peg hole and struggle and struggle to just fit through it but you can’t, because you’re a triangle. This is how I picture life for a lot of people. They never question the direction they’re going and follow the rest of the crowd blindly, until one day they wake up at the age of 40 and realize they have been tricked into living someone else’s life.

We live in a day in age where everyone can learn and figure out almost anything just by the click of a mouse and we often take that for granted because we think all the information we need is provided for us. This is a terrible misconception that needs to be put to rest. So here is my call to action: go figure out who you are and what your route in life should be. Research stuff that interests you, work on things you strive at, and enjoy your specific and very different self because you only have one shot at life, don’t waste it following someone else’s passage.