Do You, Be You

There was once this girl named Rosemary, but I'll call her Rose for short. Rose was a normal girl who liked to have fun, be with friends, and maybe cause a little bit of trouble every now and then. She also wasn't too good at the books. Now, you see, Rose came from what you would call a respected family who had certain expectations for their children.

One day when she was in her early 20's, Rose's father told her that he wanted to change her. He wanted her to be obedient, to be successful like the rest of her siblings. And now this part may sound crazy, but Rose's father took her to a laboratory, where she was strapped down for a lobotomy. A hole was drilled into her head so that brain tissue could be cut with a butter knife. Sounds terrible, right? Afterwards, poor Rose's mental state was that of a baby, and she remained incapacitated the rest of her life.

Rose's last name was Kennedy, and she was the older sister of American President John F. Kennedy.

Now, hopefully there isn't anybody out there that have had a parent strap them down to snip their brain nerves to make them obedient. But I can guarantee that there are some of you that have had family influence what you should do or who you should be. And society knocking on your door telling you to conform, to fit in, to be 'normal'. All this while your heart is pulling in another direction.

Henry David Thoreau once wrote, "the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." This is because people are focused on things that they don't enjoy, all the while pretending to be something they're not. Don't let that be you. Live life to the fullest, not by being the best actor in society, but by discovering your true self. This can be done by listening within. Be you, and that's all you should do.