Carry It Forward: Orlando

In class we had a discussion on Orlando as a writer and what he had discovered through his writing and experiences. One conclusion he came to was that he needs to write for himself and to make himself happy, not anyone else. Building on that throughout the discussion, we also touched on the idea that you need to live life and do things to make yourself happy, not anyone else. Your life is your life, and if you're not happy with yourself, it's hard for other people to be.

Being a teenager and in high school, you're surrounded by people that criticize your every move. You constantly think if you're wearing the right clothes, saying the right things, or even talking too much. Most people, if not everyone, strive to be liked and included. Some people even take that to the extreme and change themselves completely just to be a part of the "cool" crowd. I find myself second-guessing my actions as well. I tell myself, "It's fine. You don't need to be liked by everyone if you like yourself," but that's hard. It's hard to completely love yourself if other people don't like you. If I tell my parents that someone doesn't like me, they often say, "Well, that's their problem." I've found myself saying that as well, but I don't always believe it.

This discussion touched on a subject that I am frequently in conflict with. I like who I am as a person and I'm happy with myself, but if I don't always get invited to all the parties or talked to by the "cool" kids, I ask myself if I did something wrong, even if I know I didn't. Being happy with yourself and doing things that make you happy are key concepts in life, ideas that everyone should acknowledge and follow, and something that I'm working on.