Well. Apparently, I've been officially nominated for the Asian Youth Ambassadors Most Outstanding Youth of the Year 2008 award. What turned out to be a partial joke on behalf of the people that nominated me has now moved up to something a little more serious.

Regardless of how I see my life and how ego-centric the perceptions of my own world is, I doubt I set myself up as an "outstanding person". Awesome, maybe. Brilliant, probably. Clinically insane, most definitely. But outstanding? You guys know me right? I'm the least outstanding person of the bunch. You know with my demeanor, I could stand in a crowd and disappear in the thick of it, simply because I am that unremarkable.

I grew up believing that there was always a difference between being great and being outstanding. Anyone can be great. Any one of us can be special. The unique traits and qualities that define us, gives us the chance to be spectacular the way we should be. The same can't be said for being outstanding.

Not all traits lead down that road. Not all of us have the ability to make an obvious impact in the world around us. In a world that is a stage, there are two kinds of people. Those that are on the stage, regardless of whether they are star of the show or the supporting props. And there are those behind that stage. The crew, the designers, the producers and the director.

I've always belonged to the people behind that stage. Being the best at what I can be by making stars shine. No less important, but no more than what I am. There is a reason why we're not standing on that stage. We just are better at doing other things. It's a matter of being true to yourself and doing extraordinary things with ordinary abilities. You can't get any more satisfaction out of life than that regardless of whether you stand on that pedestal or not.

Still. It doesn't mean that I won't see how far it goes. I don't expect to go all the way. It's just that it's a hoot to have gone this far. So no harm in seeing it to the end. Even if you know you're not deserving. Sometimes it's good to fantasize that you're more than you know you are and get more than you deserve.

They say that life isn't fair. I say why do we have to look at that sentence like it was a bad thing all the time.