When I say “rebel”, I don’t mean go out and get tattoos (not that there’s anything wrong with tattoos) and slam the door in your parent’s face when they’re talking to you. The “rebel” here means you having a stand and not letting anyone change that. It’s when you know you’re different, and you embrace it instead of letting society change you. It means you will fight for what you believe in, even if everyone goes up against you–because you know what’s best for you.
Here’s why we think it’s not such a bad thing if you’re a rebel, but with a cause:
You know who you are
It’s hard not to rebel when you have a strong sense of identity and have a clear picture of what you want. All your friends may be into the Top 40s music, but you’re into the 70s. You may not even know who Zayn Malik is. You may not take the easiest electives in college. You may not want to be in science stream, albeit given the chance to. You may not want to work in a bank, despite its lucrative wages. Your parents and friends will all tell you that you’re weird and possibly ruining your life. You know what will ruin your life? You compromising your true self and being someone you’re not. It will catch up with you, eventually, and you will feel lost. So stay true to yourself, and your end-goal.
You know what you love and live for
Some people may be hitting their 50s and they still might not know what they’re passionate about. They are stuck in a dead-end job, going to work so they can pay bills, and possibly spending their lunch breaks taking career quizzes online. If you know what you love, you are blessed and privileged, so why would you throw that away?
While some are okay with taking the conventional route, a rebel is not. They want to pursue that major in fine arts, because they have so much passion built up inside. They want to pursue that degree in filmmaking, because they want to tell stories that change the world. These choices will inevitably garner a red light from your parents, but you should still go for it. Imagine what would have happened to the world if George Lucas became a banker. Or if A.R. Rahman became a doctor. Or if Chris Pratt never became an actor. Don’t deny the world your talent and passion, we need you.
You are determined
It is very easy to confuse determination with stubbornness. Someone who is headstrong and will not budge might come across as unreasonable and even selfish. But if you have a dream, you should by all means go out and make it happen. Some might call you crazy, some might start avoiding you–and that’s good–because you will then attract like-minded people into your life who will support you all the way and help you make your dreams a reality.
If you screw up, it’s on you
If you choose to do what people tell you to do, that makes it really easy to play the blame game when something goes wrong. You fall into the victim trap. But when you call the shots in your life, win or lose, for better or worse, you only have yourself to blame. That is great, because you want to be the only person in charge of your life. You make the mistakes, you learn from them, you become wiser, you make better decisions. That’s how you learn and become independent, and it’s one of the perks of being a rebel.
As Robert Forst aptly put it, “I took the road less traveled, and that has made all the difference”. Walk your own path, and design your own destiny.
