Human beings are inherently incomplete in their perception and psychological feelings. In one way or another, an individual tends to feel that he has one shortcoming or the other particularly when he or she compares himself or herself with the others. As a matter of fact, an individual will always find another person who compares better than him or her in life, hence many individuals find themselves facing a daunting challenge in accepting and appreciating themselves the way they naturally are either in personality characteristics, social status, physical characteristics or other aspects of life. Indeed, the challenge of appreciating oneself (in whatever way) is a challenge, and its difficult based on the inherent diversity among people in the world. As much as all people cannot be homogenous, nature has it that individuals are busy trying to match others, which is almost an impossibility. Psychologically it is difficult for human beings to accept that we are indeed created differently and that the gap is rather unbridgeable.
Nature prescribes that human beings are inherently unique in their ways. In trying to look like other people, match them in their character, economic status, physical appearance all of which might not be achievable at the end of the day, individual presents themselves to dangerous and at time unbearable risks/ danger. Such ranges from mere stream and frustration, feeling of inferiority complex, jealousy and associated ills, crimes such as murder, cases of suicide, or ever permanent psychological and mental disorders. Consequently, it is comprehensible that Fr. Lawton while saying that the journey to be oneself” seems the riskiest of all journeys endeavored to insinuate that irrespective of how important discovering, understanding, appreciating and being oneself (despite the circumstances) is, it is one of the most difficult tasks since there is an inherent feeling of incompleteness in all human beings; a factor that makes people to always look out for others who they perceive to be better than them as a reflection of what they want to be. In the end, individuals tend to sink in frustration out of failing to accept and be themselves and trying to be what they cannot be (others).
As aforementioned, the journey of discovering, appreciating, and accepting to be oneself is marred by enormous challenges. In college life, for instance, the student community is marked by unprecedented diversity. The quality of life, therefore, depends on how well a student discovers and appreciates him/ herself amid the enormous risks that such an endeavor entails. Among the risks that are involved include fear of discovering the truth about one’s self, the pressure to conform, imminent career alteration and disruption among discovering oneself, the danger of rejection by others, among others (Roske 7).
Whether a student or an ordinary member of society, human beings are inherently social. In effect, there is an autonomous need to conform to fit socially. For a college students, the pressure to conform from their peers is even greater since peer pressure is stronger and rampant among youths. Irrespective of how willing one is to discover and be oneself, the danger of getting excommunicated and rejected by college peers/ friends is very high and which is very likely to negatively affect his or her career in the circumstance where it befell him/ her (Roske 7). It is dangerous and difficult to discover and appreciate one’s weakness. Consequently, many college students fear doing so due to the risks that such a discovery may present to their careers. Imagine a mathematics student in his second year in college who was forced to take a math course by pressure coming to learn that he or she has weakness in mathematics which would necessitate a shift to another course. Such fear is indeed an impediment to self-appreciation and must be overcome to succeed. Therefore, the individual must realize that each person has his weaknesses and strength which must be accepted to be one’s self.
Work cited
Roske, Melissa. “Seven ways to self-appreciation”, Wheels in motion coaching. 2007. Web.