Beech Tree News Network

Sunday, February 17 was Michael Jordan’s 50th birthday.  No, I won’t write a Jordan column.  Plenty others have done that recently.  Michael Jordan did things his own way.  People like him, who stood out by finding success their own way, had their own identity.  www.MiriamWebster.com defines identity as distinguishing character or personality of an individual; individuality.
Earlier this week, I jumped on the internet in search of famous quotes about individuality.  There were more than a few! I did stumble upon one site, however, that had many very good quotes, www.famousquotes123.com.  Below are some of my favorites.
“I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.”-Bruce Lee.
“Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.”-Eleanor Roosevelt. 
“You can’t base your life on other people’s expectations.”  Stevie Wonder.
The people to whom these quotes are attributed embody the very essence of individuality, of going your own way.  “You Can Go Your Own Way.”-Fleetwood Mac.  I could go on and on.  Individualists go onto do great things because they do not simply fall in line with the crowd.  In fact, chances are that they find the notion of going along with the crowd rather boring.
Take this weekend’s Daytona 500 for instance.  If the drivers had listened when people said “you can’t”, they wouldn’t be in NASCAR.  Imagine seeing no Jeff Gordon, Danica Patrick (first woman ever to win a pole in NASCAR, by the way), or Dale Earnhardt, Jr.  If they listened to the ones who said “you can’t be an individual”, you wouldn’t be seeing them on the track on Sundays.
Robin Roberts will have returned to television by the time you read this.  No question she had people telling her, though probably not to her face, that she couldn’t or shouldn’t come back.  Robin has her own identity, though, and doesn’t listen to naysayers.
The bottom line, as another who has carved out his own identity says, is that a person should carve out their own niche, their own identity, in this world.  For all of you reading this, go follow your dream.  Search for your own identity.  There are people out there doing just that every day. 
Hello, my name is Andy Sullivan. I received my bachelor’s degree in business from Mid-Continent University in May 2009. I began writing for Beech Tree News in July 2009.  I enjoy playing guitar, the occasional Wii game, writing, and listening to music. I write a sports blog that can be found at http://andyuk79.tumblr.com
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