When I was a freshman in college I looked up to our upperclassmen; they were bigger, faster, stronger, and knew the game better than I did. They helped the younger guys, passed on wisdom, and exuded an experienced confidence that I lacked.

When I became a senior, I was a lot of the same things they were – wiser, bigger, better and more experienced, but I didn’t feel like I thought I would. It wasn’t that I wasn’t confident in myself, but I still felt like me, and not that much like them. When I looked at those guys as a youngster, I wondered how it would feel to be that guy, and I imposed a set of characteristics upon them. The veterans always seem outwardly solemn, straight-forward, strong and confident, and you imagine that they would feel that way inside as well. But when I got to filling that role, I didn’t feel like I thought I would feel.

So I thought hard about this – do people ever feel the way we think they do when we look at them? Celebrities, major leaguers, rock stars – they all exude awesome amounts of coolness, but does this coolness permeate them through and through, or do they feel like scared kids just the same as the rest of us?

As a senior, I was perplexed that I didn’t feel like I thought I should as one of the elders. I brought this up to one of my philosophy professors, and he shared some wisdom with me that I really took home, and still carry with me…

In the forest, the tall oak tree stands above the others. It provides shade, food, oxygen and shelter to all the animals in the forest; It does not try to do this; it simply provides as a result of what it is.

Don’t try to be something you’re not, and don’t try to force who you are or want to be; by going about your business honorably and doing your best, you’ll grow taller and impact other people without even trying. The tallest oak tree impacts the whole forest without trying, knowing, or wanting to do so. It does it because it does, and is because it is.

Maybe no one ever feels like, or inwardly lives up to the perception we have of them. Maybe it doesn’t really matter.