Your Box and Sun by Ally

Your Box and Sun by Ally - October 2018 Scholarship Essay

Generally, the phrase “thinking outside of the box” is interpreted as thinking out of the norm of things. Thinking of things in a more creative, novel, or imaginative way. In ways never seen before. Thinking in a way that then yields never-before-seen results. But that way of thinking is often very discouraging. We often hear the phrase that “there is nothing new left under the sun.” In that there can never be anything completely original or new, because everything “under the sun” has been created, discovered, or used.
But to me, the phrase “thinking outside the box” means thinking outside of YOUR box. It doesn’t matter if there really is or isn’t anything “new under the sun” because you have your own sun and there is something new under it. Every. Single. Day. No matter what the world may think is “the box,” it does not make it everyone’s “box.” Just because it is supposed to be the entire world’s “box” does not just automatically make it yours. Every “box” for every person is different because we’ve all led drastically diverse lives. There is no way that we could all even have the same “box” and consequently the same “sun.”
I believe that you always need to be true to who you are as a person, what you believe, and your life experiences. I think that “thinking outside the box” is really just thinking in a way YOU’VE never thought before, to better expand and better YOURSELF. Not only to expand and better the world, although that may be a benefit. I truly believe that you should base your “box” off of your immediate reality, comfort zone, and everyday thought, and then think outside of that norm. Outside of YOUR norm. I believe that by “thinking outside of YOUR box” you will irrevocably impact the world that lies under YOUR “sun,” for the better.