Breaking out of the mold

I wanted to share an article that I ran across through my Facebook feed that talks about the idea of breaking out of the box and finding out what you really want to do with yourself. Too many people get stuck in on a path towards acceptability because the fear they have of "failure" is strong - strong because of the people around them, because of the society around them, because of their own inherent insecurities. This article is a good call to arms.

What are you going to do with that?

What may be more interesting actually is to read the comments below the article. So many of these comments reflect what is now wrong with our society, one where the desire for material comfort is so ingrained, and the perspective of "going hungry" is so warped that people who have the time to read "the Chronicle of Higher Education" and comment online feel that they can legitimately talk about what it feels like to go hungry. Please folks, let's cover what we know. And what we can tell from these comments (and the article itself) is that: people derive comfort and legitimacy from having people make the same choices they make. One of my crazy-scientist-philosopher teachers at university once said that academia is nothing more than an insular self-aggrandizing, self-legitimizing place that buried all things different while pretending to strive for intellectual curiosity. That's why people have to write papers the same way, have to reference who came before, have to publish to get ahead.

What I believe is this. If you have the privilege and luxury to go to school and if you have the opportunity to broaden your horizons and pursue something you love, then it is irresponsible to not do so. Figure out what your passions are, away from the pressures of society, and then pursue them. Passion generates passion, and success is attracted to passion. Follow your passion with determination and drive, and I have faith that success will follow you.