17th September 2017
I’m still very unsure on what I have to write for my English assignment which is due next week. Hold on! Isn’t it the 17th today? This means that my assignment is due TOMORROW! OH NO! This can’t be happening to me. If I don’t turn this in tomorrow, my grades will be at stake and my life will be ruined. How am I going to do this within 5 hours? Let me think; I could skip school for a day and hand in my assignment the day after that and then, I would have loads of time to finish this off.
Oh wait…don’t you guys want to know what my assignment is all about? I’m pretty sure 80% of you will disregard my question because what’s the use of everyone knowing my assignment topic, right? I’m sure you would ignore this because you’re definitely NOT going to get any benefit from this. However, you will, as soon as you realize the hidden gem behind the topic.
So, questions, answers, jokes and truths aside; I was asked to do a research on any famous person in the mess we call Earth (just kidding) and I must explain the reason behind my selection whilst highlighting the importance of the person to my life. It’s just so hard to think of someone. I mean, we have a lot of famous people in this world and how do I know which one actually gave an importance to my life? Let’s me think…Albert Einstein, Barack Obama, Cristiano Ronaldo, Donald Trump, Enid Blyton, Florence Nightingale, King George V (my school is named after him), Harry Styles, Sir Isaac Newton, J.K. Rowling, Kim Kardashian, Dato’ Lee Chong Wei (pride of my country), Muhammad Ali (let’s all fly like a butterfly and sting like a bee), Neil Armstrong, Oprah Winfrey, Pablo Picasso, Quincy Miller, Rihanna… STEVE JOBS.
*******
What’s an apple? In the past, let’s say in the year 1782, if you had asked this question to a 10-year-old child, he or she would most probably have said that it’s a fruit or (in the worst circumstances), stare blankly at you for 5 minutes and run off without saying anything. However, if you ask the same question to a 10-year-old in the 21st century, the response would differ not just by a few words but literally the whole context of it. If you type the word ‘apple’ on Google Search, the first thing that would appear would not be the apple fruit. Instead, mind blogging facts on the Apple company would embody the page (I bet you will definitely try this out now).
If you know how to use your iPhone, iPad and MacBook, don’t tell me you don’t know the man behind it all? The clichés of explaining the biography of a famous person before coming straight to the point is something that happens frequently in the world of writing. However, I would not make the same mistake and only stick to the relevant facts.
So, the story begins. Born on the 24th of February 1955, Steve Paul Jobs was born in San Francisco, California and was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs. Fast forwarding his life story, he turned out to be the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Apple Inc., primary investor and CEO of Pixar and founder and CEO of NeXT. Sadly, he passed away on October 5th 2011 when he was 56 years old due to a long-time battle with pancreatic cancer.
At this point, we know that Steve Jobs left a huge mark in the world of technology but do you know, dear reader, that one of his quotes is going to leave a mark in my article right now?
Dear reader,
We all have a voice inside of us… a voice that wants to be heard every time and most importantly, a voice that resembles your identity and dreams. Behold your inner voice! A voice that walks every step of life with you. However, did you know that this voice is both strong and feeble? How is this possible? The strength of our inner voice is only realised when we listen to OURSELVES. How about its weakness?
The Achilles heel of our inner voice is happening right now. When I said that our inner voice is frail, you actually listened to me (please don’t deny it). If your inner voice was strong, you would abnegate the fact and state otherwise.
In this vast era of proliferation, our main problem is that we listen too much to the opinions of others. Addressing this as the main issue, Steve Jobs has stated in the year 2005 during his Stanford Commencement Address; “Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And more important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”
Are we following this today? I bet not. Headlines in the newspapers prove otherwise; ‘History Exam Failure Leads to Suicide of Teenager’ and ‘Lady in 20’s Turn to Slimming Pills Due to Weight Issues’. Each and every day of our lives, in order to make others content, we give up our hopes and dreams and worse, live up to others’ expectations until some of us lose our conscience and our own sane mind. May I ask you something; WHAT DO WE GAIN FROM ALL OF THIS? Self-satisfaction? Happiness?
We are all humans so, I can’t deny that we have various thoughts on one particular issue. Why should we listen to the noise of others? For instance, if you really want to eat fried rice, then, why should you eat instant noodles if your friend told you to do so? It’s your digestive system after all. It’s the same in life. You are the sole proprietor to your life so live it for YOURSELVES! The vitality of our souls can only be resembled when we have the bravery to pursue our dreams. In this context, a person who leaves his or her aspirations just for the satisfaction of others is not less than a coward. Just some friendly advice, don’t listen to your haters. In my life, I have met many haters that tried to drag me down just to prevent my success and those haters were even my close friends. Instead of breaking down into a million pieces (like most people do), I stood confidently and continued listening to my thoughts whilst ignoring the people around me. If you say I can’t, I’ll say watch me go.
In a nutshell, a huge shout out to all my readers out there; stay brave, strong, learn to love yourselves and listen only to your thoughts. If you can’t think for yourselves, then who will? Just have loads of faith towards your inner voice and trust me, you will have a glorious life.
*******
No magic potions,
No fairy dust,
No one to do it for you,
Just me,
I will push you,
Show you how to put one determined foot in front of the other,
That’s what I’ll do,
I am inside you…I’m called your inner voice,
Dig deep down and find me.