i received a devastating blow to my self-confidence in the first interview of my college years. i applied to be a host in our student acting troupe and felt confident that i would be accepted. but one of the panel members told me: “you seem inadequate and you are a little vertically-challenged.” my life has never been the same since. i used bigger heels to complement my height and psychological maneuvers and tricks to hide my lack of confidence. but no matter how hard i tried to look the part, there was still something missing.

as president of english club, i organized the rehearsal of snow white for an english party. unfortunately, we could not find an actor to be the last dwarf. it had to be someone who was humorous by nature and fluent in english. suddenly, all eyes turned to me, and i knew i would have to be the dwarf. to my great surprise and delight, once on stage, i was totally absorbed in the performance and my humorous nature was put to full use. as the dwarf, i was a big hit.

yes, each of us is only one among millions of others, but each of us is an individual and each of us is unique. cultivating our individuality will transform our lives, making of them a kaleidoscope of new colors and textures.

a world deprived of diversity would be a bland and boring place. the real tragedy is not being short or shy or ugly, but having your identity lost in a world in which everyone is a clone of a model cool boy or a flawless charming girl.

given a choice, i would rather be ugly than live in such a world. i'd rather be a genuine dwarf accompanying a snow white than be a snow white among nothing but snow whites. i would rather be myself. i would contribute my individual and unique colors to create a more diverse universe. please, be yourself.