By Alexis Schlesinger Editorial Staff Walking to the office, I silently wave at a friend of mine. I have my headphones on. There are two people walking in front of me. My friend audibly says hello back to me. The students in front of me don’t realize I’m behind them. “We weren’t even waving at her.” They make a face and laugh. Even if she was talking to them, what’s so embarrassing about greeting people as you walk past? It’s raining. I sit in the dining hall at lunch. The table next to me is discussing the weather. “Are we doing umbrellas? I feel like I haven’t seen anyone with an umbrella around here. I don’t want to be the only person carrying one. I'm going to look stupid.” It’s an umbrella. It’s meant to keep you dry. Nobody is going to judge you for not getting your clothes wet. Everyone around me is so worried about doing the wrong thing. You can’t wear certain clothes, can’t openly enjoy certain media. You can’t be friends with certain people. You can’t be too loud. You can’t be too quiet. Don’t have strong opinions but don’t be a people pleaser either. You’re rude. You’re a doormat. Don’t talk about yourself too much. Don’t ramble about your interests. You have to be interesting though, you can’t be boring. You can’t have certain hobbies though, some are kind of weird. My peers worry about things like posting too often on Instagram, and when they do post it won’t get enough likes. How embarrassing is that? Not very. It’s ironic that we are worried about not getting enough attention, while simultaneously being afraid that all attention is constantly on us. It is much easier said than done to start disregarding other people’s opinions. Even disregarding what we think their opinion might be can be difficult. You can practice this type of philosophy - the idea that you don’t need to be embarrassed by mundane things. You can start with little things in your life. It can even be in private. All you really need to do is allow yourself to exist in a way that feels true to you. Collect things regarding your interests. Actively participate in your hobbies - pick up a new one even. Start building your closet to be filled with pieces that make you happiest, even if you aren’t ready to wear them out yet. Change little things that you do when you’re not alone. Tell that joke to your friends even if you think no one will laugh. Wave at your vague acquaintances. Ask people how they’re doing instead of stopping at hello and moving on. It comes to a point where it’s almost rejection therapy. I’ve found that nine times out of 10, I haven’t even been rejected when taking chances. I don’t fear embarrassment, but I can’t say it’s been easy for me to start living this way. I’ve grown into it. I also can’t say it’s uninspired. I met one of my favorite coworkers at summer camp a few months ago - her name is Ellie. We are incredibly similar in personality, style, morals, and life philosophy. Getting to know Ellie, there was one thing distinctly different about her than anyone I had ever met. Ellie is fearless. Every time I would hang out with her, she would stop girls on the street to compliment their hair, their clothes, their smile. She would ask any question she wanted. She would make any comment she wanted. It was beautiful. The way people would light up. The way anyone would answer her questions to the best of their ability. The way nobody second guessed anything she said. I suppose my point is that I am inspired every day both by people’s fear of embarrassment, and their apathy toward it, and I hope someday many will learn to be inspired the way I am. It is freeing.