Walk to the beat of your own drum, but listen to the music around you.
We’ve all heard talk about “being a leader” or making your own path, and choosing the life you want. How do we make our choices, though? Each of us has a different outlook, and different goals. I, for instance, have a passion for all things culture. I want to meet new people, and hear their story. My goals revolve around experiencing the entire world, along with all of it’s wonders. I seek to travel, to become a well-educated citizen of the world. My interactions with the world around me shape my path, and my drum. Before college; however, I wasn’t quite sure where my music was coming from at all.
Finding our niche in life can be a challenge, no matter what type of person you are. We often feel confined to our stereotype, remaining athletes because we played sports in high school. Joining a Quidditch team because we were (if you’re at all like me, maybe a little overly) obsessed with Hogwarts and all things Potter. Becoming a Brother in a fraternity because your best friend is rushing. College is the best opportunity we have to surpass our stereotypes, and decide to walk to the beat of our own drum. Becoming a member of Greek Life, choosing a major, and deciding which extra curricular activities to participate in are all ways that we define ourselves. Whatever you choose, be it intramurals, the Skydiving Club, studying abroad, or any of the other numerous opportunities you find yourself confronted with, know that those choices are defining moments in your life, no matter how small they may seem at the time.
With that in mind, consider that while you are your own person, you are a malleable person. Loving football doesn’t take you out of the shopaholic olympics, nor does having 30 pairs of shoes mean you can’t also have a video game collection that includes every version of the Pokemon and Legend of Zelda games ever made. The people you meet and the activities you participate in will affect your life, change the way you hear the music and, in turn, change the beat of your drum.
Listen to the world around you, take it all in, and let it shape you into the person you want to be.
