When I was six, and I was
asked what it meant to be popular, I would say to be surrounded by friends who
adore you, and go to all these parties, and be cool. Now that I’m
eighteen, and I hear the word popular, I think of nothing but a broken piece of
imagination. To this day, I DESPISE the word “Popular” and I could rant and
rave about how the word itself doesn’t exist, but that’s for another day. Today,
is the day of the Underdog. The hidden hero, who goes unnoticed by any “normal”
person but myself.
The Underdog is someone we’ve all come to know in our
lives, whether it be someone we knew in sixth grade, or someone we’ve worked
with for six years, there is always the Underdog. Someone who is a stand-out,
or chooses to be different. The boy with his hair dyed a crazy color, or the
girl who wears a black cape. These are just two of millions of people who can
be considered the “Underdog.” I consider them Underdogs because to me, they
come out on top. Even when it seems like they are nothing, they say nothing,
they feel nothing, and they are the ones who rise up to become successful in
their own ways. There are many successful celebrities to look up to when the
term “Underdog” comes up, however you’re not a celebrity, and quite frankly,
neither am I. We are people who seem to be in the movie Dazed and Confused,
because that’s all we are.
My message to you, the Underdog, is that by choosing to
dye your hair rainbow colors, and sporting that black cape, or by choosing to
stay late at work rather than go to that office party you weren’t invited to in
the first place, you’re taking a stand. You’re standing up and standing out as your
own. You, without even realizing it, are becoming your own. You’re working hard
to be different, and to be seen in a way that those who laugh and mock you, have
never experienced before which makes them uncomfortable. Do not ever feel
ashamed of standing out. Do not ever feel ashamed for choosing your own colors
in a black and white infested T.V. sitcom, where nothing is real except for you.
My message to you, the Underdog, is do not fear the fear
you feel when you stand up for yourself, by merely standing alone. By becoming
your own friend, and worst enemy. By “wasting” your time staying up all night
playing video games rather than staying up all night partying with “friends.”
Do not ever feel the need to blend in, because that is the biggest waste of
time any person could ever possibly make. Those who have seemed to “Blend in”
are blending into nothing but a blank wall. A castle of fake emotions, and
elements of what people consider “happiness” and “friendship.” Those who choose
to blend in with those around them, and fit in, are simply trying to fit into a
dollhouse. Do not hide behind plastic emotions, rather than embracing your
confusion, your anger, and your envy. You, the Underdog, are the Underdog
because you were made to come out on top. No human being on this planet has
ever risen to the top by blending in to what they’ve been told was right.
My reminder to you, the Underdog, is that it’s okay to
not feel okay. It’s okay to be angry at yourself and those around you, it’s
okay to feel alone. But most importantly, you need to know that although now
seems hopeless, you are not lost. You are not a piece of trash to be thrown out
to make others’ life better because you are you, and you’re most important
role, is to be the best damn you that anybody else has ever seen. Keep trying
and failing. Keep standing out and take the empty criticism. Embrace the flaw
of the word flaw itself, and learn what it feels like to be the you that you
want to be. Learn what if feels like to actually feel. To breathe the air that you have the freedom to breathe. To live life as the best damn you that the world has ever seen.
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