Write Or Wrong 8

* This weeks column is dedicated to my friends and family. Your differences are what make you all beautiful.

Identity. It's what makes us who we are. All of the attributes and character traits that contribute to our personality and how we go through life. So what makes us the way we are? Experience? Genetics? Parental upbringing?

I mean, think about it, those of you with siblings know what I mean. Your parents raise you, yet you turn out to be two different people. The best example I can give is that of personal experience. My younger brother and I are pretty close, but we're very different people. I'm an introverted guy. Shy almost to a fault. When it comes to dealing with girls, well, I'm rather inept. My brother, on the other hand, is an extroverted kind of guy. He makes friends rather easily. And while I fumble and bumble around girls, he is what in many people would call “a pimp.” Girls just dig him.

Now what is it that makes him different? What defining events in our relatively short lives have made us the way we are? I mean, our parents both raised us in a rather strict yet fair manner. Both of us went to Catholic school. We both we're encouraged to value friends and family highly. But we're different. He has become an interesting person. He runs track, is part of the school drama productions, and is a mainstay of his high schools chorus. The scary thing is that those are only a few of the things he's part of. And while he joins clubs/groups like they are going out of style, I went the completely opposite route. I wasn't much of a joiner. In fact, I was downright hermit-like. I avoided all forms of social activities and lost myself in the imaginary world of stories, be they my own or the books and comics I read. See? Isn't it something that makes you stop and think? We can all learn the same lessons from the same people but, in the end, there are certain factors that will assure that we turn out different. It's as if it's an extension of natures assertion of variation into the environment.

So don't fight it, it's nature. Be different. Dye your hair, study abroad, or just try that weird looking squid thing on the menu. It'll give you that slightly different viewpoint that will set you apart from everyone else. Carve out your niche, because no one likes unoriginality. It's like the old saying, “Variety is the spice of life.”

Next Week: Can't We All Just Get Along?

Shout Out: I'd just like to congratulate the Hendrick Hudson class of 2002. From my girlfriend Sarah, to Mike, to Adelle, I wish you all nothing but the best in college and all your future endeavours.