Where Do You Fit In?

March 26, 2017 - 

The other day, I ran into the dreaded issue that many of us know all too well; my computer ran out of space.  So like any mac user who has owned her computer since the prehistoric ages, I went through all of my old photos and videos, and hit “delete.”  Upon doing so, however, I stumbled upon a video that I had almost forgotten about and couldn’t bring myself to get rid of. 

During the first term of my junior year, I took a class called “nature writing.”  Essentially, the objective of this class was to gain a better self awareness as well as a sense of one’s surroundings, through the combination of nature, and literature.  It was unlike any class that I had ever taken before, and a typical day was spent outside with a pen and journal in hand.

Given the self driven nature of the class, we had quite a bit of leeway when it came to our final assignment, and all that we were asked to do was to answer one question in whatever way spoke to us. 

The question was: Where do I fit in?

So in typical SB fashion, I decided to go for more of a creative response, and ended up making a video.  The other day, while going through and deleting all of the junk from my computer, I stumbled upon the video.  While I had forgotten about the film itself, I wanted to share the audio portion with you all, because even though I came up with these words years ago, they have managed to stick with me. 

It reads:

Where do I fit into the world? I live a pretty ordinary life; I wake up in the morning, go to school, and go to bed at night to put it simply.  At school I fit in with my group of friends and at home I fit in with my family.  But what exactly does this mean?  To fit in.  To belong.  To be a member of something…

A member is an individual thing or organization of things belonging to a group of something.  When looking at it closely, I am a member of my family and friend group.  Go out a bit and I am a member of a community; a member of a human population.  Now look at the bigger picture.  I am a member of all living creatures of the earth.  Even bigger, the universe.  And we are all inhabitants of it.  But what makes us a member?  What makes us fit in?

For many to fit in is to be exactly like everyone else, but I disagree.  I believe that fitting in means being different and embracing those differences.  Think about it.  No two creatures on the entire planet are exactly alike.  This can be boiled down to out DNA; the ingredients that make us who we are.  Every single being has traits that makes them different from the other.  So find those traits.  Explore your passions, your talents, push yourself to be the best you can possibly be.  The only way to stand out in the world is to be different.

The world is our home, and we are here to explore its depths, but not to destroy what it has to offer.  We are here to contribute, but not to alter.  To preserve and not destroy.  To learn, but not to overpower.  Most of all, we are here to live; to survive and to thrive.   As inhabitants of the earth, we have the right to explore its depths, but we do not have the right to claim it as ours.  

Every single grain of sand, speck of dust, and atom that makes up the earth tells a story.  The story of those who walked the earth before us.  It is of infinitive value.  We are put on the earth for only a moment in time, in fact our entire existence is just a glimpse of a much bigger picture.  But we here; we are part of the picture.  We are present and without us it would be incomplete.  Each and every human being to ever exist has and will contribute to this picture.  Every single person has their own infinitive value: to teach, to learn, to explore, to lead, to love, and eventually to be remembered.  

We all have a time in which out spirits leave our physical beings.  Our body becomes a part of the earth, which cherishes and passes on our own story.  But our spirit parts from our physical being, leaving a legacy behind and becoming a part of the bigger picture.  We fit into what many refer to as the circle of life: we are born, we live, and in the end we die.  And somewhere along the way, hopefully, we make an impact, and leave something behind for those left to learn from.  Hopefully the generations to come have the same experience that we have.  To explore the earth, to discover our own story, and to remember our legacy.  

So go out.  Explore your passions and find where you fit in.  We each have a responsibility and that is to contribute.  To be present in our lives and the lives of others.  To be wild, to be free.  Step outside of your own box, bend the rules and create new guidelines.  Extend yourself to others, near and far.  Our job is easy.  The earth has provided us with every single necessity we need to survive, and in turn, we need to go out and live.

Despite a few too many grammatical errors, my 11th grade self had a point.  In this day and age, we tend to get too caught up in blending in, rather than embracing the true, greatest version of ourselves.

So I encourage you readers to go out and find where you fit in.  Dare to be different and authentic.  In other words: be yourself, and don’t let anyone stop you from doing so.

I know that this is a bit of an unusual post, but I felt inclined to share after stumbling upon this video.

Cheers!

-sb