Why Jumping Into The Unknown Is The Best Thing You'll Ever Do

What if, one day, you had an epic moment, sat back in a chair, and finally said to yourself, “Screw it”?

I just had that moment. I wouldn’t call it giving up on myself or on my personal outlooks. Rather, I would consider it an empowering moment and an opportunity to internally realize that it’s okay to divert from expectation.

Let me begin with a question: How many people in your life have told you that college should define who you are to become?

The rigorous classes, countless papers and pulling all-nighters to cram for exams was all to obtain the American Dream -- the dream to live in the penthouse and see out the life that our parents planned for us.

The real question is, do you genuinely want that?

As a recent college graduate, I just discovered the idea of uncharted territory. It is defined by Leo F. Buscaglia, an American life guru, who suggests that life is an unexpected, valued, uncharted territory.

He believed that our lives tend to reveal or unravel one brilliant moment at a time. When I read that during my senior year in college, I thought it to be one of the most vivid things I’ve ever read.

I contemplated: How could one man compose a sentence that can potentially explain or transform my perspective? I always thought that life was supposed to be guided by expectation -- a set of oriented rules, symphonically orchestrated by our elders.

Hypothetically speaking, if you want to achieve A, you must complete tasks B, C, D and so forth.

But, what happens if you divert from that path? Do you feel that your $200,000 priceless education could have gone to waste? Or, was it really four years of seeing yourself turn into someone else, when you really wanted to study a different subject?

When this realization hit me, I found one of the most powerful strengths possible: instinct. Internal instinct is the set of behaviors that is not learned, but rather, the natural desire or tendency to act in a particular way based upon personal experiences.

After reading countless books and enjoying the life of a young adult, I have discovered that I have a purpose in life, and I didn't learn in through my textbooks or communication theory classes.

I believe that we are born to serve a greater cause than ourselves: to show others that there is a magical spark within each of us. For that, we share the insane audacity to share it to the world.

It is this instinctive drive that allows us to speak up when others doubt our capacities to see a brighter future for ourselves and humanity.

I am ever so proud to be a part of a generation that is vocal about diverting from the norm that was set before us; the normality that we apparently studied four years to achieve.

Our generation believed in creating this unique boldness, where interchanging perspectives is the never-ending pulse that drives our society.

I’ve participated in protest and hopefully you have, too. I have stood up for what I believed is right and I hope you have, too.

Our uncharted territories are the beginning foundation for the lives that we are supposed to live; the ways we rise from failure, the smiles from overcoming adversity, the things our parents told us not to do, but we did anyway to make a difference.

The mental and physical ability to be uncharted seems scary, like you can become lost in the abyss of finding purpose.

But, once you find it, hold on to it and plant your seed within it. I truly hope that you find the spark that ignites your life into this undeniable, insatiable, abyss. There, you will truly find a sense of purpose, courage and desire to change yourself and the world.

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