Yesterday, while I was alone in my apartment, I almost threw my arm out fist-pumping to a remixed version of MGMT’s overplayed song, “Kids.” It brought me back to the time when I was about 14 years old and broke my reading lamp while fist-pumping to Creed’s “6 Feet From the Edge” (Note: this occurred before “Jersey Shore” even coined the dance move), lied about it to my parents and told them that grandma’s vintage lamp broke when I changed the light bulb.

Recently, I was reintroduced to someone I had met maybe seven times over the course of three years (Guy-X). He “did not remember me” and mumbled “I must’ve been blackout drunk” as an excuse. I remembered his full name, major and the mutual friends we shared. I told him this and he was creeped out, even though inside sources say that he knew exactly who I was because, while I was abroad, a friend contacted me and shared that he’d seen Guy-X facebook stalking me.

I know you’re all wondering, “why are you sooo awk?” Well I’m wondering, why aren’t you? At Wash. U., people still spend time pretending they are normal or cool, and I am always curious as to why that still happens. Wash. U. is one of the best universities in the world, and from this, I can reasonably deduce that it also means that we might just have some of the weirdest and most brilliant students in the world. Let’s face it – if any of us were really cool or normal, we certainly would not be here! Why can’t we be comfortable with being a bit out of the ordinary?

A few nights ago, I was out with some friends and all of a sudden, one girl put her fist in the center of the table and said, “Earth!” Obviously we all recognized her gesture as a “Captain Planet” moment and immediately followed her lead by shouting out the elements of fire, wind, water and the uncomfortably introduced fifth element, “heart.” Another recent, very loser-ish moment came later in the conversation when a friend confessed that she thought that Spock was so attractive that she didn’t even glance at Captain Kirk in the latest Star Trek movie.

Totally unconnected, but equally relevant, when a Wash. U. guy is obsessed with a girl, I’ve heard a few stories of girls receiving elaborate poetry, voicemails in song form, and even invitations to spend a romantic evening watching The Notebook. Then things take a wild turn when the girl rejects the poor guy and he’s so embarrassed that he was Mr. Vulnerable, he tells his bros that the “dank biddy” turned out to be a stalker.

What I want to get across is that we are not always honest about who we really are, and I think it might be because we don’t want to come off as weird or overly interested. I think that one of the most refreshing things in the world is to talk to someone who openly displays her passion and is not ashamed to admit that she did something totally un-cool. We are not in high school anymore and should not be afraid to get made fun of or ripped apart. What I am trying to inspire was best said in Eckhart Tolle’s novel/Oprah’s former webinar obsession, “A New Earth,” in which he begged us to let go of our egos so that we can awaken to our life’s true purpose. I’ll just reword what he said and say that this year, I hope more people let go of what’s holding them back and feel confident enough to be themselves, no matter how awkward society says they are.

Maybe you’re that seemingly over-confident athletic, bro type sitting in Whispers too afraid to say hey to that damn fine, chocolate honey you’re in love with. You could be the self-identified Lord of the Rings fan who goes to the sushi line everyday because you have a crush on Dobri. Perhaps you’re the typical Wash. U. student who prefers Old Spice men’s deodorant to lady-scented body wash. Whoever you are, I want you to throw inhibitions out the window and be you, and know that at the very least, I’ll accept and appreciate you for exactly who you are.