As I walk up onto stage all I see are the thoughts running through my head. ‘What if they don’t like me?’ ‘What if my clothes look weird?’ and ‘Crap, are there going to be cameras?’

I shake my head as I take those last few steps of the dais to stand in front of the podium, ‘I’m being a hypocrite.’ I’m up here to present a message, not totally contradict it.

A moment goes by as the announcer does whatever it is he does, I’m not really listening. I smile, as is expected. I greet them, it’s customary, and they don’t know me. We exchange the formalities as they all get settled away. Then, I begin.

“Who am I? Am I a celebrity, a famous athlete, a Nobel Prize winner? No I am neither. I am just another human, leading another life. In my own person I have a masters degree in psychology, and I have traveled to many places. I did not get there overnight either. All through school I was merely a slightly above average student but I did what I wanted in life.

“Does this make me any better then you? I think not. I am an individual leading my own life. Social matters do not concern me; I lead my life how I want to lead it. Free from other’s criticism and judgment. I have no concern for that.

“The point of me being here today is not to teach you about what to do in life or what you can hope to achieve. It is about not conforming.

“True I don’t have any weird piercings, or an abnormal hair colour. That in itself is conforming, maybe not to the norms of society, but conforming to something nonetheless. To be a true non-conformist you must live outside any comment from other people, to not abide by another’s rules. The true non-conformist answers to only what they think is right and only what they like and feel comfortable doing. They do not bend to the pressures of their peers or the media.”

I take a deep breath before I end my opening speech and begin my presentation in true form. ‘In and out.’

“People who try to change you are really only afraid to be themselves. Keep this in your thoughts; People who mind, don’t matter, and people who matter, don’t mind.”

I straighten and turn towards my assistant; he nods at me confidently as he flips on the projector.

‘Hopefully these kids will finally get it.’