Think for yourself. Don’t let others think for you. Don’t let your family or friends think for you, don’t let society, and don’t let media bias think for you.

I remember after the 2008 election, I didn’t want to go to school and hear everyone complain about the Republican Candidate John McCain winning the election. Of course the whole day “McCain should have won” and other expressions of annoyance spread through the classroom. We were a classroom of primarily 10 and 11-year-olds in the fifth grade. We didn’t know the ins and outs of foreign policy. What 10-year-old that groans when the teacher says ”write a five sentence paragraph” would you engage in political conversation with?

Thinking for yourself is freeing. It fills a curiosity. It takes away the fear of not knowing everything because you aren’t afraid to ask for information and answers to questions. It’s a genuine desire to learn more about the world around you. It’s not forced. It’s curious.

When I was in the 8th grade, my English teacher encouraged us to question things. Don’t expect everything for what it appears to be or what someone tells you it is. Question things, gather information, differing points of view, and draw your own conclusions.

We’ve all probably been asked, “If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?” It's a classic “you got in trouble with your friends” type of question. Most would probably answer no or hang their head in shame. It seems like an easy thing to answer. It would be stupid.

Not using the mind you’ve been given to think freely and for yourself is like jumping off that bridge. It's not thinking at all. It's just accepting things the way they are presented to you.

We have the ability to form our own opinions based on our own research, experiences, and observations. It’s a waste to neglect that ability and settle for the opinions of others as our own.

Being an independent mind can be intimidating. Sometimes it means going against everyone else. It can be knowing a different truth from the majority. It’s risking exposure to judgement by the majority for having an unpopular opinion. It’s trusting in your own way of thinking and having in it.

Think for yourself. Don’t waste the complexity of your mind to be mindless.