"You cannot discover new oceans unless you have courage to lose sight of the shore."
- André Gide
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In his book, Paper Airplane, Michael McMillan describes how daring to be different allows a person to tap into their creative spirit and create new opportunities. It is the creative spirit that gives us the courage to set sail for new horizons.
In the book, 6th grade teacher, Mrs Hackett concludes her week long science lesson on aerodynamics with a paper per airplane contest. The contest is designed to allow the students to gain practical knowledge from the lesson. Mrs. Hackett tells the students that each student will be given one piece of paper, and they will have 15 minutes to construct a paper airplane. All of the students will be required to fly their airplane in the contest. The student whose airplane travels the furthest distance will be declared the winner. All but one of the students, Jeffery, begin measuring and folding their paper. Jeffery was content to sit and stare out the window. Jeffery was a unique student who "marched to the beat of a different drum." At the end of the 15 minutes, all of the students, except for Jeffery, had constructed an airplane. Jeffery had not made a single fold in his paper. Mrs. Hackett, knowing that Jeffery was a unique and creative student, allowed him to remain in the classroom to construct his airplane while the other students began the contest outside. One by one, the students stepped up to line and launched their aircrafts. Some planes flew amazingly well, while others barely made it past the starting point. After the last of the students had launched their aircraft, Jeffery was summoned to the launching line. With his hands behind his back, the class waited in excitement as Jeffery approached the launching line. The class began to snicker when Jeffery pulled his airplane from behind his back. Jeffery's airplane was still the flat piece of paper that Mrs. Hackett had given to all of the students; not one fold or crease had been made. Jeffery ignored the snickers and confidently placed both feet behind the line. Next, he wadded up the paper into a ball and launched his plane. His plane flew further than any of the other planes. His classmates went wild! Nobody knew what to say, not even Mrs. Hackett. Jeffery explained that to his way of thinking, a plane crumbled into a ball would travel the greatest distance because it would travel with more force and with no wing resistance. Jeffery had the insight to look at a problem in a different way and the courage to act upon his vision.
In the book, 6th grade teacher, Mrs Hackett concludes her week long science lesson on aerodynamics with a paper per airplane contest. The contest is designed to allow the students to gain practical knowledge from the lesson. Mrs. Hackett tells the students that each student will be given one piece of paper, and they will have 15 minutes to construct a paper airplane. All of the students will be required to fly their airplane in the contest. The student whose airplane travels the furthest distance will be declared the winner. All but one of the students, Jeffery, begin measuring and folding their paper. Jeffery was content to sit and stare out the window. Jeffery was a unique student who "marched to the beat of a different drum." At the end of the 15 minutes, all of the students, except for Jeffery, had constructed an airplane. Jeffery had not made a single fold in his paper. Mrs. Hackett, knowing that Jeffery was a unique and creative student, allowed him to remain in the classroom to construct his airplane while the other students began the contest outside. One by one, the students stepped up to line and launched their aircrafts. Some planes flew amazingly well, while others barely made it past the starting point. After the last of the students had launched their aircraft, Jeffery was summoned to the launching line. With his hands behind his back, the class waited in excitement as Jeffery approached the launching line. The class began to snicker when Jeffery pulled his airplane from behind his back. Jeffery's airplane was still the flat piece of paper that Mrs. Hackett had given to all of the students; not one fold or crease had been made. Jeffery ignored the snickers and confidently placed both feet behind the line. Next, he wadded up the paper into a ball and launched his plane. His plane flew further than any of the other planes. His classmates went wild! Nobody knew what to say, not even Mrs. Hackett. Jeffery explained that to his way of thinking, a plane crumbled into a ball would travel the greatest distance because it would travel with more force and with no wing resistance. Jeffery had the insight to look at a problem in a different way and the courage to act upon his vision.
Dare to be different. Conformity robs you of your creativity. Be proud of who you are. Insist on liking yourself for who you are not what others expect you to be. The more you like yourself, the easier it is to be yourself, different as that may be. Life would be boring if we lived a life of conformity. Think how life would be different if our ancestors choose to be just like everybody else. Our greatest inventions and greatest social movements came about because people choose to think differently and had the courage to act upon their vision.
Begin living your life by appreciating your uniqueness. Its your differences that make you special. Be more like Jeffery, have the courage to look at things differently than others and take a risk. The risk just could lead to new and exciting discoveries.
Now go ahead, I dare ya!
Have a TREMENDOUS Thursday
It's your life: live it, love it, celebrate it!
MJD
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