The majority of people have heard of Steve Jobs and the legend he has left behind with Apple Computers.  Steve was a true story of an underdog and a ‘lucky one’.   He never finished college but he still managed to start up his own computer company and turn it into a billion dollar corporation.  I recently watched his movie and something he said in passing at the beginning really struck me.  He said, “The only thing this system (school) does is teach us how to follow the system.”

  We spend 22-25 years of our lives learning things inside a classroom.  We spend elementary, middle and high school sitting in chairs getting taught to ask permission for everything we do.  We are given homework assignments that are nothing short of repetition to engrain these thoughtless concepts into our heads.  We are taught that unless we can get good grades, we are worthless.  Stupid.  Oblivious.  And if we can’t seem to handle getting programed 6 hours a day we are told we have a disability and are given drugs to help us focus. 

Our world has changed.  Where society and classrooms used to see artists, we now see doodlers.  Where we used to see dreamers, we now see disorders.  Where we used to see people who questioned the system, we see criminals and radicals that should be put behind bars for ‘disturbing the peace’.  What peace? This peaceful knowledge of knowing everything is ok and how it should be?  A peace of mind knowing that you are doing a job that is putting food on the table and supporting your family? Why do we think these things are all ok to settle for? Why do we have to settle for ok, when we can have something amazing?  Why do we have almost half a century of our lives turning in pieces of paper that will only diminish our creativity even more?

As an almost graduated college student, I tend to ask the majority of professionals I meet how they got the job they have now.  The majority of them tell me that their jobs ended up being completely irrelevant to their majors.  Not because their majors weren’t useful, but because they did not realize their passion while in college.  They chose a major based on the skills they had found they succeeded at in prior school years, not off of their passion in life.  Why do schools spend all this time teaching us this system and then tell us to worship  creative visionaries like Steve Jobs?  “But you aren’t Steve Jobs” They have told me more than once. "He got lucky, but the way we teach is a guaranteed ticket to success."   Well, why can’t I strive to achieve the level of creative visionary that Steve Jobs has? What is the difference between me and Steve Jobs? 

Yes, if I tried to create a new concept that rivaled Apple, I probably would not succeed as much as Jobs did.  But why can’t I dare to be different and be just as crazy as he was? He saw something and went after it.  He disregarded all warnings and all systems that were already in place and then ended up creating his own way of doing things.  I would not be able to live with myself if I ended up working a job that I did not have passion for.  

When I'm successful and students start coming up and asking me how I got to where I was, I don’t want to tell them that my profession was something I stumbled into.  I want to tell them that I fought for it.  I want to tell them that I disregarded the preconceived ideas that fell behind success.  I want to tell them that I saw something and went after it the way I wanted to.  I want to tell them it wasn't easy but I succeeded anyways.  I want to tell them  I was hungry and I wanted it bad enough.  They say that the people who are crazy enough to try and change the world are the ones the usually do.  What is so crazy about changing the world though? The second someone can give me a solidified answer for that, I plan on already having made my mark.

I am an extremely selfish person.  Upon meeting anyone for the first time, I always warn them of this.  I explain that I have goals for myself and although I enjoy helping people, at the end of the day I am the only one who has the ability to change my future.  I always adhere by extremely ethical morals but I always explain that when I set a goal, I make sure I achieve it. 
 
For years, my romantic relationships failed and the common answer was that I was too independent and too career driven. I was told my determinedness scared off any potential suitors, I was told my aggression towards my dreams was an unattractive quality to have when it came to relationships and 'finding a man'.  I felt terrible and self conscious but no matter how hard I tried, I could not bring myself to stray from my dreams.  

It took a little while, but I now realize that being a driven woman is something I should be extremely proud of.  I have gone after things I had wanted and become successful because of it.  My determinedness rubs some people the wrong way, but to be honest I am so focused on my life that those opinions no longer matter.  I would do anything to achieve my dreams and if people cannot accept that it's their problem, not mine.  Times are different and although some people still view my determination as a flaw, most people now see it as a positive attribute.  This is for all the girls out there who have ever felt self conscious or guilty about going after their  dreams and putting themselves first.  

WHY YOU SHOULDN'T DATE A GIRL WHO IS DRIVEN



You know the kind.  

Frayed hair, bags under the eyes, a delirious smile across her face as she finishes the touches on her latest project at 4 AM.  That girl.  The one that listens to none other than her beating heart and her initial gut instinct.

She sees a vision and all of the sudden everything else fades away from it, including you. 

Don’t date a girl who is driven.

If you think mind games will work on a girl like that, you’re wrong.  She will leave you the second you try to pull her down without even a second glance back in your direction.  She is over mind games, boys and everything in between.  She knows that there is more to life than a few dates and drunken hook ups.  She doesn’t care about status or money because she knows that the only time those things matter are when they are your own.    

Don’t date a girl who is driven for she will consistently blow your mind with numerous facts about things you didn’t even know existed.  She will talk about them until she tires out the subject and discovers something new to learn about.  She will more than likely unintentionally make you feel inferior at one point or another.  Don’t try to tell her that something is not important because to her, everything has a reason for existing.  

She does not understand the concept of “I want to, but I can’t”.  If she cares about you, she will do everything in her power to help you succeed.  She doesn’t understand that not everyone has the same amount of energy and passion that she does.  She has started from the ground and worked her way to the top, she understands that people who victimize themselves are the only ones who can’t accomplish what they want.

Don’t date a girl who is driven for she is independent and successful.  Our society has taught us that women are supposed to be submissive to men, but she questions and then goes against this belief.  She provides for herself what she desires and does not understand why other people feel they cannot do the same.  She is intimidating to a lot of men for this very reason. 

She probably takes a long time to warm up and trust you.  She has been hurt numerous times before by boys who were too scared to handle her energy.  She is busy most of the time and understands that sometimes work is productive when you are on your own.  She is used to being by herself so the thought of letting someone in, just to watch them leave, seems counterproductive.  She understands her self worth and values her time much more than that.  You have to prove to her that you want this.

Don’t date a girl who is driven for if you give her a reason, she will never come running back to you.  She understands that she does not need a significant other to feel like a whole person.  She has a life and whether it includes you or not, that does not stop her from achieving her goals. 

You’ll know her when you meet her.  It will be on a rare night out at the bar with some of her friends.  She will grab your attention off the bat with a large smile and some witty banter.  She will fascinate you with stories of things she has done, various facts she has learned over the years, and a fantastic story or two.  She will draw you in with her confidence and the way her eyes light up when she talks.  You will feel a desire to be fully immersed in her life, her ways, her mentality, all of it.  But the second you do, run away.  Because if you date a girl who is driven,

You will never be good enough for her. 

There is always an ending to movies.  With a cliché song and a wrap up on the entire story.  But this isn’t a movie.  This is my life and granted this is a part of a story, this is by no means the end of anything.  In fact, it's merely the beginning.  These  past years in New Mexico were some of the best and some of the worst moments of my life.  There were days that I saw no future for myself, there were nights that I had to pick myself up off the floor from crying, there were deaths I missed back home, relationships with boys I truly thought were ‘the one’, days that I never wanted to end, afternoons spent surrounded by some of the best people I have ever been around, nights that I will never remember, and mornings after spent in nothing but a mixture between silence, headaches and chuckling. 


I guess what I am trying to say is that there really is no end to a story.  There are just a constant string of memories, and these memories are what make up our lives.  Either way we are stuck living our own story so we might as well embrace everything as much as we can.  This includes the good, the bad, the angry, the friends, the family, the drunkards, the enemies, the ex boyfriends, the impromptu trips, the freedom of being irresponsible.  All these are nothing more than moments that become memories.  For a lot of us, college is the end of the best years of our lives.  To me? It's just the beginning. 

So here’s to the crazy ones.  The weird ones, the nerds, the freaks and outcasts that no one else regards as successful by societies standards, we give this earth life.  We breath difference into the normal ones around us.  We push social norms and question the way everyone lives their lives.  We stop at nothing to achieve happiness and push everyone else to do the same.  We may not be normal and we might scare people away but we are the ones that make the difference.  Don’t be afraid to march to the beat of your own drum.  In fact, why march to the beat of a drummer anyways? March to the beat of your heart, do what you love and live every second of your life to the fullest.  The ones reading this getting chills, I’m talking to you guys.  You know you’re different.  Embrace it.  Use it.  This world could use a little more shaking up. 

Here's to the stories I will be sharing with you, here's to the thoughts you can chose to agree or disagree with, but mainly here's to you for having the desire to read about my life.  I appreciate that you're giving me a solid chance to start changing the world.  

As my grandma always says,
Let's knock ‘em dead.