“Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one”- Eleanor Roosevelt
Standing out is one of the hardest things to do in college, save for maintaining a good GPA. As soon as you enter college, you are automatically categorized as the ‘typical college student’. Then you’re basically thrown into one of the subcategories of a college student: jocks, nerds, frat boys/sorority girls, theater geeks, hipsters, cool kids (who get along with everybody), egotistical kids (who do their best to get along with nobody), weed/smoke/pot-heads, socially-awkward nerds, etc. The list goes on. Now I’m sure you just don’t want to be some regular kid throughout your time in college (I certainly don’t). You should aim to be a leader, a trend-setter, a go-getter! But amidst all of these social groups, how can you hope to make yourself unique?
1. Do Not Follow the Crowd
This goes without saying, but please don’t follow the crowd. It almost never works in terms of individuality. You should only follow the things you want to follow. I mean, would you want to do what someone else wanted in order to be liked, or would you do you want and act how you feel in order to make true friends? I’m guessing it’s the latter option. Like I’m sure I have said before, things such as money and celebrity gossip don’t matter as much in college. People naturally gravitate towards those who are having fun and tread their own path to obtain their fun. But if you want to follow a crowd in order to figure out who you are as a person, that’s fine. Just make sure you become the leader of that crowd and tread your own path in the long run.
2. Try Something New
College is a time for new experiences and new opportunities. Heck, if you don’t break out of your comfort zone, how are you going to grow as a person? Try taking a language class you would never even dream of taking. Personally, I’m African American and when I tell people I take Japanese, it gives them quite a shock. I also tried kendo for a while (taking it up again next year). Basically, the lesson is always have a wide array of interests. Don’t have just one interest or you’ll only stand out to a few people. I’m not saying you should try and connect to everybody, but always try to keep your life fresh with new activities everyday. As we all know, doing the same thing every time can get pretty stale.
3. Have Good Manners
This tip may not be for everyone, but most of the time people don’t practice good etiquette. Some people just keep scowls on their faces the entire day, just to look cool. I assure you, having an angry face does not make you look cool. It makes you look unhappy. You don’t have to smile 24/7, just keep a relatively normal face. Open the doors for others, say thanks to the bus driver when you get off the bus, be courteous to your elders, etc. Show everyone you were raised well by your parents.
4. Do Not Care What Other People Think
One of the most important statements in my life: don’t care what others think of you. I don’t know if I could’ve survived high school without this. Always remember that you are who you want to be. For some individuals, this is a very difficult concept to come to terms with. “But what if I’m doing something wrong?” If that’s the case, your real friends will tell you. Don’t let a minor acquaintance criticize you on the things you do that seem normal to you. There were a great many leaders that were criticized initially for their ideas (Martin Luther King, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bill Gates, Ingvar Kamprad, Napoleon Hill), but they all turned out to be successes. If you let others hold you back, you’ll never rise to the top of the pack.
There are so many places to start if you want to stand out. Most colleges are on break right now, so if you missed your opportunity to be one of the leaders in your social group, there is plenty of time so don’t worry. For those of us still in school (i.e. me) take a chance and do your best to turn things around before the end of the year. Stand out proud and stand out tall. Do this and you’ll see the results in no time.
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