Brave Enough To Be Real

The Valedictorian looked out into the crowd of 10,000 eyes. She took a deep breath in and started her speech.

“Express your honest opinions,” she said to the watching eyes, “even if it means losing friends, family, followers and support . . . Don’t be afraid to give a popular book a bad review. Don’t be afraid to challenge people. Don’t be afraid to piss them off. They’ll think about you for half a second, and then their life will move on without you . .  . Don’t conform to the irrational majority. Stand fiercely as an individual . . . You cannot be genuine while simultaneously pleasing everyone. It’s impossible. Being your genuine and authentic self implies that you won’t be universally liked. It means you won’t agree with someone's opinion because it’s easier that way . . . Being genuine doesn’t mean agreeing with your community because disagreeing will create tension . . . Being authentic means always being ready to be hated for being true to you . . . If you can’t accept the possibility of being hated, then you can never truly be you . . . And now, more than ever, we need real people who aren’t afraid to challenge authority. Now, more than ever, we need genuine people to rise. For too long have we let those that are fake rise—the ones who will agree with everyone and everything—the ones that people mistakenly like because they aren’t a real person, just a social chameleon, adapting to them. We must become fearless individuals that aren’t afraid to offend. The majority has never been rational. You can’t turn to them for answers. Discover yourself and then don’t conform to anyone or anything. Rise. And rise again. Together we can move this little world an inch . . . Which way should we move it?”

I was sitting in the stands, listening to her. I sat back, crossed my arms and furrowed my brow. 

“If you can’t accept the possibility of being universally hated, then you can never truly be you,” I repeated out-loud to myself, thinking it through. About 7 people angrily ‘shushed’ me, shooting me daggers.

So, what did I do? I listened to her and stood up and shouted it out. 

“IF YOU CAN’T ACCEPT THE POSSIBILITY OF BEING UNIVERSALLY HATED, THEN YOU CAN NEVER TRULY BE YOU!!!” 

The Valedictorian smirked and nodded. 

I nodded back. 

Then the police escorted me away from the graduation.

10,000 eyes all looked at me with contempt. 

I kept shouting it over and over again. 

“IF YOU CAN’T ACCEPT THE POSSIBILITY OF BEING UNIVERSALLY HATED, THEN YOU CAN NEVER TRULY BE YOU!!! . . .” 

-CH 6/14/25