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"You are NOT Special"


Seaweed-Headed Dragon

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I think this is a fantastic speech. It is weird how it is a teacher saying this and apparently the video is incredibly well received if the like/dislike ratio is anything to go by. I agree with him and this is something I wish others would realize. If we are all special, then none of us is. That is just the truth. My parents told me all the time that I was special and looking back on it I realize that is was just a lie or a lie that they themselves did not realize they were telling me.

 

Realizing your limitations and knowing you aren't some incredibly awesome person destined for greatness to me is a good feeling. It is far better than getting my hopes up pointlessly and getting this false ego that I am oh so special when I am just like millions of other people on this planet. Even then, we are nothing compared to the planet. The planet is nothing compared to the sun and it goes on. We are fairly insignificant and I am fine with that.

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Logically, you are in a way correct. That would make uniqueness a paradox, but I know it is true.

Really, I can point out "how can we be different if we are therefore the same?"

I just realized the logical fallacy in that!

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I refuse to believe this idea of no one being special. Everyone is special, just in different ways. Nobody is special in that they are special, and that makes us ordinary in a way, but we all have our own special talents that define us.

 

Think of it like cutie marks; none of the ponies are special in that they have a cutie mark. It's what the cutie mark is that counts; would you call Pinkie Pie ordinary? Twilight? Or even a background pony like Octavia? They all have cutie marks, so does that make them all ordinary? No!

 

Just because Rainbow Dash is better at flying, doesn't mean Fluttershy is worthless. You can apply that to real life, too. Just because someone is good at making friends, and you're not, doesn't mean that you're worthless. Just because you may be good at math, and someone else isn't, doesn't mean you are in any way more special than them; your 'special-ness' just covers the area of math, while theirs doesn't.

 

I'm an optimist, so my views may be different from yours on this subject. But this is just my own personal opinion on it; take it as you like.

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I'm on the same point with Rocket. Even though we have our limitations, we are still extraordinary in a way that we personally know. Nobody is "just" someone. Everyone is "an extraordinary person". To say that we are not special is implying that we are of little value, and that's a fallacy. 

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I guess my opinion is that no - no one IS special/important by virtue of existing. However, just about anyone CAN BE special provided they put enough effort in and that external factors aren't preventing their growth.

Edited by SanityNotIncluded
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Here is what I usually respond to these kind of things:

 

"If we are not special, then why do we exist? Are we simply biological waste on a rock that exists just to exist? If we are not special, then why does a Universe, or a deity, create such a nonsense of existence that is apparently a mistake on which the Universe must live with. However, the Universe, or deity, does not make mistakes. The Universe would not take the least efficient way to carry out the evolutionary path of perfection. A deity would not create something for no reason. If a man is not special, what question was answered?"

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While what he's saying may be true, it's just not appropriate for a graduation. Sure, it's relevant, but it's so down putting and mildly depressing. It's like telling someone "Congrats, you just graduated from 12 years of education, not that your life is going to be significant anyway. Not like you're going to really use this information to do anything great."

I don't know, I just find it to be really down putting.

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I never understood how one could think everyone is special. On what grounds is everyone special? On mere existence? So the fact that everything followed a set of rules to allow our existence is special? It is awe inspiring, but most certainly not special.

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Being special is not the result of merely existing, it is earned. I agree with the speech, and found it inspirational. If everbody is special, then what is normal?If every one is extraordinary, what is ordinary? Being different or unique is a default setting, and no matter how unique you are, you are just one in seven billion. Instead of sitting around saying "I'm special" and ending up exactly the same as everybody else, it is better to stand up and actually do something. People who are truly special are the people who rose to  the occasion to make a significant difference. 

 

 

 

"If we are not special, then why do we exist? Are we simply biological waste on a rock that exists just to exist? If we are not special, then why does a Universe, or a deity, create such a nonsense of existence that is apparently a mistake on which the Universe must live with. However, the Universe, or deity, does not make mistakes. The Universe would not take the least efficient way to carry out the evolutionary path of perfection. A deity would not create something for no reason. If a man is not special, what question was answered?"

 

Life itself is not special. It is merely the result of random chemical mixtures in a random environment. The individual characteristics that allow life to exist on Earth are not unique, the only thing that is special is the fact that those characteristics occurred in the same place at the same time. It is all  numbers game, I am willing to accept that life has existed elsewhere, currently exists elsewhere, and will exist elsewhere.

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My mommy says I'm special.

 

Oh, and I think we're as "special" as we make ourselves. You're not born special, you earn it.

 

 

Yeahh. That's it.

 

*now imagine a Snowflake gif right here*

Edited by ~Sadistic ghostfk39~
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I like the speech and the overall message of it, but I do feel that the general statement is sacrificing some truth in the name of being provocative. Which isn't bad. Contrarily, it made me think a lot more than my own high school graduation speech.

 

I agree with the message that he's trying to get across about working towards something bigger than feeding your own ego and being satisfied not because you're praised, but because you've done something that genuinely means something to you. And his point about how we're all individually not especially important in the scheme of things is a fairly uncomfortable truth. However, you can use statistics to make most anything sound pointless and insignificant. Will all of you remember this post two hours after you read it? Not remotely. But I'm making it anyway, because it's a representation of my thoughts and being nihilistic is no better than being shallow and arrogant. We all find our own reasons to justify our existence and help us make it through each day, we've all had our own experiences and reacted to them in unique, personal, sometimes regrettable ways, and I think that if it's not too presumptuous, that is pretty special.

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I kinda agree, and I don't at the same time. Everybody is not special in a positive way. But I think that if everybody is special in the same way, then nobody is special. But people all have different talents, I think all people are special. I think we should all work on our own way to make this a better world. And everybody does that differently.

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This whole "you're not special" idea relies on an incredibly idiotic understanding of the word. Being special doesn't mean that you're better or more important than anyone else, it means that everyone has feelings, a life, hopes and dreams. You should never have to justify your life or your desire to have a full and happy existence.

Now to all of you who said that being special is something that has to be earned, I am very disappointed with you, this is the kind of thinking that makes this world such a horrible place for so many people. Everyone, regardless of their flaws and qualities, deserves to be valued and respected simply for existing. To believe otherwise is one of the worst, most monstrous ways to treat other human beings.

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Personally I think everyone is special to someone else... Or at least everyone should be... There are plenty of people on this forum who would say I'm nothing special... They don't even know who I am... But my mum would beg to differ... She's been through life with me... The hard times and the easy times... It's like my best friend and I... We've been through a lot too... It's not necessarily the extraordinary qualities a person possesses... But the bond between them and another person that is special... At least to them...

 

And also... We are all unique... In appearance... In personality... Nobody is EXACTLY the same... We are all different and we all have something that makes us different to everyone else... Sure someone may be good at playing chess... And all over the world there are other people who are equally as good... But the chances of there being a person with the same physical appearance... The EXACT same... Down to every hair on the head... And every groove in their finger prints... And if that were true, they may have different likes and dislikes... Nobody is exactly the same

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Some people are more special than others. In any case, being special is not meaningful in its own right. It is not deserving of praise or pride. It is often just a label that is used when a more descriptive, relevant label is not warranted.

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As genious as that was, I didn't think saying this at a graduation ceremony was the right place.

 

I mean, for realization in yourself like a boot camp or facility would be better, as it would improve on who you are, but in a place where others are supposed to be happy about you and others graduating? Seems a bit odd if you ask me.

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We're all special in our own way, even with the limitations that we have to go through. Nobody can ever be the same but, each of us share that one special thing that only we can discover for ourselves.

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Its blunt message is somewhat alleviated by the humor throughout.  Still, it's something those graduates need to hear.  If anybody in that crowd thinks graduating high school somehow makes them noteworthy, then permit me to congratulate them on being in the top 85% of Americans.  If they can't grasp the lack of significance in that figure, then they didn't really earn that diploma.

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  • 3 months later...

Unfortunately you are wrong if you think none are special. All are special. Each with own gifts and abilities complimenting the other.

 

Example special people were like Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, Ben Franklin. Others are special as well. I've seen people who thought like this and hurt others.

Unfortunately you are wrong if you think none are special. All are special. Each with own gifts and abilities complimenting the other.

 

Example special people were like Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, Ben Franklin. Others are special as well. I've seen people who thought like this and hurt others.

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"You are the same decaying, organic matter as everything else."

 

Kinda true. I mean, sure people are unique or different than others.... but until you do something fairly great/notable, I don't think it matters all that much. Even then, I guess other people decide if you are "special".

 

You don't really go... HEY GUYS, I'M SPECIAL.

Interesting speech, though.

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