When I was younger, my parents always used to tell me to be a leader, not a follower. Now, being that young naive kid, I didn't listen and did whatever my friends were doing regardless if I liked it or not. In middle school, I used to follow the crowd. Whatever my friends said that something was cool all of a sudden I thought was cool. I was begging my parents to buy me nicer clothes and shoes to fit in more with my so called friends.

I didn't become my own leader until junior year of high school. That year I decided to stop playing basketball after a very long time of doing so and picked up acting. I fell in love with drama and my second show I played John Proctor in "The Crucible." I was hired at the movie theater in downtown Boston and started earning money for myself. With the money I earned, I became a conscious buyer only buying things that were reasonable. Also, in my free time, I started writing scripts and sketches.

Now, I'm doing other things besides just acting and writing. I've always had a deep passion for music thanks to my father who exposed me to a lot. Currently, I'm learning how to DJ and play the piano. I like to rap too; I have a composition note book that I carry around all the time and when I think of a rhyme or any idea I just write it down in my book. So basically, I guess I'm a modern day renaissance man with rapping, acting, writing, and music.

Take Finn from "Star Wars" for example. Once, he was a stormtrooper and did what he was commanded by. After his first battle, he knew that being a stormtrooper wasn't for him and helped a Resistance pilot escape to the planet of Jakku. He knew deep down that killing innocent people was morally wrong and did whatever he could to stop the First Order from succeeding in their goals.

Once you start being yourself, you become original. No one else can be exactly like you because only you can be you. Don't let anything in the media influence you and expand upon things that you typically enjoy. Personally, I love getting together with friends and talking about philosophy. Most of the time, we end up at the movie theaters and after we talk about the philosophical aspect of the film. I love reading books because books reflect on yourself. With every book I have read, I either learned something new about the world or even myself.

So just be yourself. No one else can be you and that's what makes you interesting. Don't be a follower or a clone but be your own leader. Being yourself will inspire others to stop following the crowd and to do their own thing.