“People moving all the time inside a perfectly straight line. Don’t you ever just wanna curve away?” This lyric is from one of my favorite Coldplay songs called “Strawberry String.” I think it is a great lyric that relates to what I want to talk about today.

Hey everyone! I hope you are having a great Monday. It feels so good to finally write some posts on here. Sophomore year has been hitting me like a truck to be honest! All this work is making me forget about the things that make me happy. It is just recently that I have started to put the pieces together and have become happier. Everything this semester has been about trial and error. There were some things that were not working for me in the first half of the semester, but in this second half, I have decided to acquire a new mentality. I am going to be more open minded. I don’t want to stick to my old habits of trying to fit in to a certain standard. And I am not talking about looks or anything. I am talking about being. Thinking like everyone else, acting like everyone else, you know, just being. I know, this can sound confusing, but hear me out.

Have you ever felt like you need to fit a certain standard in society? Have you ever felt the need to be like everyone else? Have you ever felt like stepping out of the box is scary? It’s okay, I have too. Well, let’s talk about it. This past Saturday, I went to the movies with one of my friends to see the live broadcast of the Coldplay concert at the movies. Close to the end of the concert, lead singer, Chris Martin, was talking about how scared he was about collaborating with the Korean Band, BTS. He felt like Coldplay had to fit a certain standard in the music world. His hesitation to proceed with this collaboration was understandable. We live in a very peculiar world. We are expected to not step out of our social environments. We are expected to follow those certain rules. However, they felt like they were stuck in some box they wanted to get out of. But what was holding them back? Fear. They eventually overcame their fear and came out of this box and collaborated to write the song “My Universe.” This song turned out to be one of the most fun and best collaborations they have done. They now have a great relationship to the Korean Band.

So, where am I going with this? Don’t be afraid! The only thing that is holding you back from being the best version of yourself is you. You can’t be afraid to learn, explore, or meet new people. If you stay confined to your box, you will never know about the power you hold. You will never know about the people who can change your life. Life is very funny, but if you stay doing the same things, it will stop being funny. Even you will stop being interested. So go out! Get out of your comfort zone. I have started doing that. I started being more spontaneous in my life. I have been trying new things and have been significantly happier.

There is no need to always be following the “perfectly straight line” society paints out for us. If you have a head full of dreams, don’t let fear keep you from achieving them. “You can see the change you want to, be what you want to be.” Don’t be afraid of what you can learn. Don’t be afraid of your potential. I believe in you.

Have a great week!