Be Yourself and Forget the Rest by Shauna

Be Yourself and Forget the Rest by Shauna - November 2014 Scholarship Essay

One piece of advice I'd give an incoming freshman is to just be yourself. There's so much pressure and stress put on kids to fit in. With all the teen idols, magazines and ads, I can see why kids feel the pressure to have it all.

After 20 years, I clearly remember my freshman year. All my friends from middle school seemed to have formed into little cliques, and I felt lost. I felt the pressure to have to decide what group was for me. Was it the Preppies? Nah. Was it the Stoners? NO WAY! It was the Cowboys and Cowgirls...and I'm not talking about the football team. Even though I wouldn't consider myself a cowgirl in anyway; we didn't have property, livestock and I wasn't on the rodeo team. I had some good friends that were. I'm still friends with some of them to this day. I think back to those days and realize that I may have made a mistake by labeling myself with this certain group. Did I miss out on some friendships because I chose not to be myself? I certainly had other interests at that time, but the pressure of fitting into a group took hold of me and I kept myself in that little box.

When you choose to be yourself, and not let others intimidate you, then you are making a statement that you are confident and sure of yourself. Others will like you for who you are, not what you have. I'm still learning this as an adult, and I believe if we model this and reassure our kids, hopefully they will be confident in themselves.