Everybody is telling you what they want you to do. In fact, that's what school is about mostly. It's about teaching you to comply. We need good citizens. That starts with compliance, and it ends in you becoming a non-playable-character (NPC). So, what do we have to learn on our own? We have to learn how to say, "no." After that, we need to learn what to say "yes" to.
I know everybody and their mother is a guru nowadays. So, why do you need one more bozo to tell you how to live your life? Answer: Because I made my mistakes, and I have come out the other side with some nuggets of knowledge. Also, I have been known to be entertaining on occasion... so, you have some good art and words here at the very least.
Let's catch you up to date if you haven't gotten to know me by now. My name is Zach (Tasty to some). I went to art school, worked in restaurants most of my life, trained in MMA, competed in Jiu-Jitsu, made animated short films, wrote a book and continue to produce content for y'all. Okay, now that we're all caught up to date, let's get back to learning to say "no."
Everybody you know, including your best friends, are telling you "no." They aren't doing this to be little saboteurs. They're projecting their worst fears onto you. Most people fear the same things. We fear humiliation, death, failure and fear itself. You have dreams, if you are not a NPC. You have a soul, a desire and journey to go on. Your journey is yours, and it's specific to your unique DNA. Nobody else is you. So, why are you going to go along with anybody else. That's why we must learn to say "no." It's important to listen to yourself. You've spent more time listening to what others have to say, so now we need to push back in order to find ourselves in the fog. Henry Thoreau left for the woods in order to find himself. Now, we try to find ourselves in the digital realm of social media. That doesn't work, because you have countless sojourners along side you transforming us all into good little lemmings. Thus the powerful "no," comes into effect. The best way to get to this is to eliminate the outside voices, and say "yes" to your own.
Say, "yes." Once you understand how the world functions then you need to move on to asking yourself the big questions. These questions are many, but they can become more concrete with time. First thing we need to acknowledge is our values. What do we value? It may be family, friends, kindness and the 1st amendment. That's a start. Then we need to go into priorities which may correspond with our journey. Who do you want to be? This is another thing we can learn to say "yes" to. Say "yes" to what you want! Everybody wants to pull you in different directions, and decide what you'll be. You decide who you'll be. You already learned to say "no," and now you need to learn what to say, "yes" to.
I just told you everything you need to do! So, now you need to push back against me (even though my advice is for self empowerment). Maybe, there's ideas here you don't agree with. Maybe, you don't like the illustration. Good. Stand your ground, sojourner. Say "no" to me, and say "yes" to yourself. Think about the "yes" as a counter stretch. You've spent most of your life being pushed upon, and the weight can be cumbersome. Now, you have the power with a single word to shape the kind of character you're going to be. Be a contrarian, because there's no other way to be unless you want to be a NPC.