Paper #1: Our Deepest Fear

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." – Marianne Williamson, Our Deepest Fear, Excerpt directly from Coach Carter

As we walk into the familiar room in Alexander, it was dark with the projection on. It wasn’t odd for a video to be shown during Seminar. Seminar is a class that I have with my Bridge classmates I met during summer. As I took a seat in the front row next to Hi’i and Suva, the screen displayed the famous actor, Samuel L. Jackson. The boys had already begun to whisper loud enough for everyone to hear, “It’s Coach Carter.” We all noticed that the film was fast-forward to a certain segment in the movie. Although I have never seen the movie, I began to judge it easily for it’s sporty relation. I thought that it was about the game of basketball and how it related to life. Mrs. K hit play for the video to begin. Her instructions were simply to listen carefully on what was being said. Every word fit perfectly together to create the most influential sentence.

“There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.” I hold on to the part of this poem as I related it to a previous situation. I consciously chose to hold back in a class once. I didn’t really engage into discussions that were being held. The reason was I did not want to come off as the “smart one” to others around me. So, I kept my words in my mouth until I was asked to share my thoughts and opinions. This quote helped me realize that I should not restrict myself because “we are all meant to shine”. “And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” We must let ourselves be who we are, not because it may seem like a competition between your friends, but it is to show them that all of us have the right to shine. Once we do that, we can help those around us do the same. The greatest leaders of all time became the greatest because they chose to hold nothing back from shining. Little do we realize that we can become just like them, only if we choose to let our light shine. “As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." The feeling of comfort is always wanted. But in order to let our light shine, we have to take risks and step out of that comfort zone. If that is the first step, then I'll keep on running until I reach the dream I've always dreamed about. Our fears would disappear behind us; it feels as nothing can bring you down. This is when you know you finally reached the peak of happiness.

After the segment of Coach Carter, we were given instructions to express what it means to us. Everyone started to type away on their own laptops in Moodle. Once we all finished, we began to share each of our thoughts out loud. I shared the part that meant the most to me. “We cannot think of it as a competition between friends. We have to realize that they’re just shining as they chose to.” I said. My classmates shared their thoughts as well. When we were released from class we discussed how it went. “That was tense.” I said. My friends replied with, “Yeah.” and “I know right?” When we began to walk down the stairs, all of us secretly agreed to let our light shine. We are a pact. We choose not to live in the shadows of others any longer. Truly because, “We are all meant to shine, as children do.”