AVERAGE

 AVERAGE: GEN Z'S SILENT NIGHTMARE

It's been a minute since I was a clueless kid running home from school to catch my favorite cartoon show to an adult maneuvering university halls trying to make something or rather someone out of myself . Remember the good old days when life just felt so easy cause we didn't know much about how the world works. There was no pressure on us except just simply breathing yet we yearned to grow up believing life became better with growing. It's not that it doesn't, just that the pressure rises and reality kicks in.

In a generation such as today's, the bar has been set so high since we live in a world where standing out and being exceptional is often celebrated. The urge to be successful, everybody's hope for their future. See, in the traditional way success was normally termed as having a good education, getting a good job that paid well and having a happy and stable family but all that has changed once the millennials set foot on earth. Thanks to the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Tavi Gevinson and Malala Yousafzai our generation has been bombarded by a vast pressure to have it all figured out by at least twenty five. Don't get me wrong, they are amazing people who have accomplished so much at such a young age  and serve as an inspiration. However, overtime the pressure for Gen Z to become exceptional while still young has had a big impact on their lives awaking the nightmare we call average.

Average can be defined as mediocre, a word that discourages most of us. It raises the fear of being no one. I have heard many say ' I don't want to be just a person in the crowd'. Unlike in the past where the scholars or the rich were awarded for being the most successful, today everyone can be a celebrity. Thus, the pressure to have a million Instagram or TikTok followers, to be the next music superstar,  or to be the next social media revolutionary. We are constantly bombarded by the glorification of victories, the ones who achieve are the ones who are praised. If you don't take part in something FOMO(fear of missing out) kicks in and if you do take part and fail, FOBO(fear of being ordinary) takes its turn. Did you know Koinophobia is actually a thing? It is the fear of not doing something that makes you stand out. It is a word that was coined by youtuber John Koening in his "Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows" in 2012. Nobody wants to live a normal life anymore. Everybody wants to leave their mark on the world. But then how?

 How do we overcome this overwhelming emotion? We have to delve deep into our minds and understand ourselves. Look at it from an external and internal perspective. Standing out on the outside might be seen through meeting people with amazing CVs, seeing your colleagues win contests or gain a bit of social media attention. This may make you feel just maybe you could be them if you worked a little bit harder or  if you looked a certain way but what people don't understand is that we can't be the same and that life does not have to be the same for all of us. As a matter of fact it would be boring if it were. In an internal perspective, take time to ask the right questions. What is your reason for the constant grind that you do everyday? Is it for money, power or recognition? Or is it to make the world a better place? What do you believe they could lead to? Happiness? I think the most important question is  whether it is adding any value to your life. If so, how? Clarity of choice and thought  are the most important skills to have.

Many will argue but the fact is there would be no exceptional if there was no average. To be exceptional as many yearn to, you either need to sacrifice everything in your life or be extremely lucky. If it's the latter, congrats. However, the funny thing about luck is it just doesn't happen. A smart soul once told me for one to get lucky they had to keep trying every day so that one day they would wake up to what we call a lucky day. As much as we may say luck, the spirit of showing up daily and not giving up has to be incorporated and that my very good friend is hard work. So basically, what I am trying to say is that there is no easy way out.

Nonetheless, if it is the former(sacrificing everything), then you have to ask yourself, is it worth it? To some, life is not about the achievements, it's about living! So what's your pick? What do you think life is for?