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Dust Devil
Sometimes instances whip through our lives resembling the distracting nature of tornadoes. On an autumn day, while heading towards the school library, a gust of wind takes form and swirls litter violently around the lunch area. A group of students across the way scramble, fighting the dust devil and its most fierce weapon: aggressive dirt particles. "
Uncaring and relentless, the violent winds sweep through the campus stripping students of their previous activities and their intentions accompanying them. Although unimportant and meaningless, the dust devil interrupts a gossip-filled conversation between girls to my right. They swiftly clump together and exacerbate the situation with their flailing arms and unnecessary shrieks.
Suddenly, paper sails across my view, and it becomes clear: I, too, am amidst the raging wind! My once-clear path towards the library now stands obstructed and obscure. Immediately, the dust devil loses momentum and previously mobile litter collapses. Before resuming my stride, I hesitate and glance around. My course toward the library is cloudless and inviting; the next few minutes promise a successfully checked-out book.
Upon losing my best friend of four years, the summer preceding my senior year served as a prelude to a ruthless dust devil of my own. The loss of my counterpart saw my struggle with a consequential loss of belonging. Solitary and apprehensive, friendless and determined, my return to school delivered an unyielding pursuit of acceptance among my peers. Another problem surfaced when the obsession with belonging overshadowed more important things in my life.
For a time, rather than cementing my academic stance with teachers, my concern lay with new efforts towards establishing myself among a group of friends. Just as the faithful trip to the library experienced interruption from the wild winds, the dependable journey towards my education became sidetracked with the search for acceptance.
The autumn day delivering the auspicious dust devil provided meaning and clarity. Its sudden, commanding presence halted activities, conversations, and most importantly thoughts-- thoughts of feelings, emotion, revelations that dissolved after being shaken up by a rough gust. Parallel to the effects of the dust devil on my library trip, the unremitting search for acceptance and belonging interrupted the path towards my education. In addition, certain individuals’ roles in the winds provided further meaning.
Rather than being concerned with clinging to others and milking them of support, I prevailed as my own crutch during the gust. The girls I observed demonstrated collective, foolish behavior and their tendency to amplify a simple situation stood as a representation of other cliques around school-- cliques I previously and desperately sought approval from.
Just as I learned from the gust of wind, the search for belonging provides nothing but a distraction from my education. Even further, I am not in need of others for validation, a feeling of belonging, or a guide of what to believe or expect in life. As a victim of the winds, and as a member of my school’s social scene, I gathered that the only measurement of one’s place in society lies inward, within one’s self.
Oftentimes we become so consumed with the pursuit of belonging that we lose sight of the more valuable aspects in life. Groups and gangs, cliques and crews have no say in determining an individual’s worth but rather serve as distractions from what truly does define an individual. The amount of allegiance and dedication we pay towards bettering ourselves through education ought to carry more prevalence than our part of a clique. Never should something so pesky and insignificant hold the power to wrench our attention from determining factors in our lives. Acceptance and belonging from others is short-lived; education is forever. Clearly, we must continue the search for these things--only, we must search solely within ourselves for acceptance and belonging. Article provided by 
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