Looking at the leaves on a cool autumn day, I remembered the question my father asked me. He asked, “What do you see when you look at the autumn leaves?” I answered, “When I look at it, it represents something more, but I don’t know what.” I ponder myself with this question every day until I came up with the answer. It was an easy response, but the point was, he wanted me to find my own belief.
What is a belief? A belief is an assumed truth. Once we create a belief, we tend to stick to it; however, this belief can be changed by challenging it with information and reason. I firmly believe that being unique is what defines us as who we are. My colleagues and I might not have the same culture, hobby, or same taste in style, but what we do share in common is uniqueness. When I describe one of my friends, people can usually figure out who he is because there is no other person acting a perfect mirror. I attended this convention in Shanghai, China a few years ago. The convention’s theme was “Being You”. When I walked into the room, everyone was different. I could hear people having debates of the latest fashion trends, see different styles, and experience different cultures. Towards the end, the host gave a speech about “Same versus Different.” It was interesting; however, one specific fact stood out of them all. He said, “Uniqueness is one’s best friend and worst enemy.” When I thought back on the quote I somehow always relate it to the novel “The Giver”. “The Giver,” is an imaginary world where everyone is the same. They all have same color eyes, no feelings, and their life is based on an aged schedule. However, there is a special boy, Jonas, who had different color eyes and was able to perceive the world differently and changed everyone’s future. The moral is that one unique person or thing can change everyone’s view of life- at politics, towards gays, and at academics.
No matter how fortunate or unfortunate, we all want to be like celebrities on Glamour magazine. I try to mirror Stefani Germanotta-known as Lady Gaga. I appreciate how she dresses and how she doesn’t mind what the paparazzi think about her. Accordingly, because of all the things she had said and done, I try to match my uniqueness to my own “taste” like a true “little monster” would. When I was in fifth grade I did a learning assignment on famous people or places, but the thing was it was not “mine”. About two-third of it was copied and pasted. Although I did it, just one glance gave it away. It was nowhere close to my level of vocabulary, the style of how I write, and my level of grammar. Later that night, I redid it and instantly it went from top quality to medium ranged quality, but I was satisfied because the essay was based off my knowledge and not someone else’s. Therefore, like the colors on the leaves in autumn, we should challenge ourselves in being unique so we are diverse from one another.