From the moment you walk down the halls on your first day, it begins. The pressure consumes you, swallows you. Immediately it’s all about making friends, fitting in, and finding your niche. Already cliché cliques are forming: the jocks, the snobs, the mathletes, the stoners, and the notorious couch potatoes. One must define his or herself or face being defined by others. We categorize ourselves into one of these and conform to what society expects. Fearful of rejection, we stay comfortably within these expectations and boundaries. It usually goes a little like this: if you are a member of Assiteens Charity League your freshman year you are deemed a goodie-two-shoes, if you start on the varsity soccer team your sophomore year you are thought of as a jock, if you still go to church every Sunday by junior year you are a bible banger, if you actually do homework senior year you are officially a nerd. If I have learned one thing in my 4 years, it is that by allowing yourself to be classified and limited to only one of these clichés you have killed your true self. Conformity only limits your potential, shadows your ability, and narrows your opportunities.
When I came to this realization, I allowed myself to broaden my interests, increase my confidence, and discover my true self. I have defied the pressure, the clichés, and the expectations of others. I am proud to be an athletic, spiritual, and philanthropic nerd.