A day when you stood up for yourself

Believe that being different and unique lets a person be themselves and lead a happy more
fulfilled life. People do not always choose to be the unique person that they are. People need to
be themselves instead of conforming to their surroundings for whatever reasons they may have.
When someone changes who they are, they lose their true individuality. If you truly enjoy
something, follow that passion even if someone tells you its lame.

When I was in fourth grade we were directed to pick one of three instruments, Violin, Viola,
or Cello. One of my close friends at the time told me to play Cello although my top choice was
Violin. His reasoning was that the Violin was “lame” and a women’s instrument. For fear of
being called a woman I listened to him and switched my instrument to Cello. After one day of
playing the Cello I asked my teacher if I could go back to the Violin. Even though my friend told
me the Violin was stupid I stayed with it. Now I play the Violin with my school’s Camber
Ensemble that is occasionally hired by private functions. I followed what I wanted to do and
because I choose something I enjoy, I stuck with it.

Individuals that follow beliefs or desires go on to make world changing movements. Gandhi led
peaceful protests because unfair laws and injustices were being forced upon people. Gandhi
believed he could make an impact and show the world his cause with his peaceful protests.
Martin Luther King Jr. did the same with his movements. He stood out from the norm and made
himself known in a dangerous time. Because Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. were able to
gather the courage to stand out and be different from others during their respective times, they
brought about change that is still referenced today. If they hadn’t had the courage to against what
was normal we would still be in the same society that was around during Martin Luther King
Jr.’s time.

Being yourself and standing up for what you believe in could possible lead to a new axiom
amongst humans. Maybe you want to try something new that others may think is strange. If you
enjoy it, do it, if you believe in it whole heartedly don’t let others convince you otherwise. Enjoy
life to its fullest the way you want too. Pursue what you believe unquestioningly; don’t let
anyone tell you that that what you believe is wrong or stupid continue with it. Be who you are
and stand up for what you believe in.
 Solitude can be utilised in doing something productive

Being lonely hurts — it can even negatively impact your health. But the mere act of being alone
with oneself doesn’t have to be bad, and experts say it can even benefit your social relationships,
improve your creativity and confidence, and help you regulate your emotions so that you can
better deal with adverse situations.

“It’s not that solitude is always good, but it can be good” if you’re open to rejecting the idea —
common in the west — that time by yourself is always a negative experience you’re being forced
into, according to Thuy-vy Nguyen, an assistant professor in the department of psychology at
Durham University, who studies solitude.

Choosing to spend time doing things by yourself can have mental, emotional and social benefits,
but the key to reaping those positive rewards comes from choosing to spend time alone. In a
culture where we often confuse being alone for loneliness, the ability to appreciate time by
ourselves prevents us from processing the experience as a negative thing. In fact, getting better at
identifying moments when we need solitude to recharge and reflect can help us better handle
negative emotions and experiences, like stress and burnout, said Emily Roberts, a
psychotherapist.

Despite the social stigma and apprehension about spending time alone, it’s something our bodies
crave. Similar to how loneliness describes being alone and wanting company, “aloneliness” can
be used to describe the natural desire for solitude. Since we’re not used to labeling that feeling, it
can easily be confused for, and feed into, other feelings like anxiety, exhaustion and stress,
especially since “we might not know that time alone is what we need to make ourselves feel
better.” Enjoying the benefits of time alone isn’t a question of being an introvert or extrovert.
More consistently, people who value solitude and who tend not to ignore their own desires in the
pursuit of pleasing others will find time alone more enjoyable, she said.

The freedom of not having to follow the lead of others, with “no pressure to do anything, no
pressure to talk to anyone, no obligation to make plans with people,” is a great way to process
and decompress, even for highly social individuals, Ms. Roberts said. It also helps us discover
new interests and ideas without having to worry about the opinions of others — one study even
showed that teens are less self-conscious when they’re alone.
“Cultivating this sense of being alone and making the choice to be alone can help you to develop
who you are, your sense of self, and what your true interests are,” Dr. Grice said. Knowing
oneself makes it easier to find other people who share your passions, and can improve your
empathy. It can also help you re-evaluate “filler” friendships: relationships you maintain because
you’d rather do anything on a Friday night besides staying at home by yourself, even at the cost
of spending time with people whose company you don’t enjoy.
Scoring only good marks is not enough to become good
human being

Success and recognition for students are measured in terms of "marks" or "grades" secured
and/or awards won. In the absence of other easily available objective criteria to assess students,
many stakeholders are forced to rely on the marks/grades secured. Most students still run after
marks in India, thanks to the kind of education system we have which hails good marks as one of
the top achievements in life. But good marks cannot measure your in-depth understanding of the
subject concepts or your problem-solving skills.

While most of the Class 12 students by now have secured a seat in their college or are waiting
for the cut-offs, there are many who may not get a seat in their favourite course or college.
Throughout the year, we all work hard to score well in the board exams but even after getting
results, we are worried. Why? The root of our problems is our career. In India, there are many
competitive examinations ranging from NEET and IIT-JEE to CLAT that are held in May-June.
The issue that bothers us the most is either our marks in board exams or our performance in
competitive tests.

If we manage to secure good score in our exams, we become anxious and nervous whether we
would be able to secure a seat in a good institution or not. On the other hand, if we do not
achieve good-enough marks, people around us makes us realise how ruined our life will become
and how we will not be able to have a decent career in future. This is the most serious problem of
all the students in India — it, literally, is a do-or-die situation.

But, is it really that big of a problem? Even if it is, how do we deal with it? In the words of our
former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, “Man needs his difficulties because they are necessary to
enjoy success”. He always said that our perspective can make all the difference. In order to
support his poor family, he distributed newspapers after his school-hours to add to his father’s
income. He received average marks in school but was a hardworking student with a strong desire
to learn and discover. He also failed to become a pilot but he never lost hope and later came to be
known as the “Missile man of India”. His life is a clear example of the result we get when we
deal with our problems positively.

On the other side, being humane is the best trait of a human being. There will be happiness all
around in the society, if and only if, there is the motto among we, the human race of ‘live, and let
live’. This motto of life itself point towards the accommodating nature or characteristics among
the human beings. Success can also be achieved even if, we are not aggressive. On the other
hand, success can also be achieved even if, we are of accommodating nature. This itself in fact
add another feather to one’s success by making it a sharing and caring one. Sharing and caring in
the sense that, the more accommodating that we become in life, the more the share of our success
is ushered upon our fellow beings in the times to come.
In other words, it is certainly not necessary to be aggressive and thereby achieve success rather,
we can achieve success by being accommodating and a good human being. Accommodating in
this regard means yes, one must achieve success in one’s personal life but, at the same time,
his/her fruits of success should be distributed among his/her fellow beings of the society. Then
only we can boast ourselves of being having an accommodating nature among us. Personal
aggrandizement of the fruits of success makes one self-centric. While, on the other hand,
accommodating nature among, we the mankind makes us, or, our fruits of success all-
encompassing one. All-encompassing in the sense that, it, that is our success is ushered and
shared by one and all of the society.