#6 Written a Personal Manifesto

Every time I hear the word "manifesto," I am immediately taken back to my eleventh grade Social Justice class in which we learned about Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels' 1848 publication The Communist Manifesto. One of the world's most influential and political manuscripts, it presented an analytical approach to the historical and present class struggle and the problems of capitalism and tells Marx and Engels' theories about the nature of society and politics. It briefly features their ideas for how the capitalist society of the time would eventually be replaced by socialism, and then eventually by communism. Okay, enough with the history lesson. The point is that Marx and Engels, by publishing their manifesto, were able to publicly declare their political beliefs. They were also able to make manifest the ideals they felt were relevant to the world at large at the time. The Communist Manifesto has been recognized as one of the world's most influential political manuscripts. In all honesty, I do not wish to have written a document that will go down in political history. When I say that I wish I would've written a manifesto, I mean that I wish I would've written a more personal manifesto. According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, a manifesto is "a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer." Issuing a personal manifesto can introduce the world to who you are and what you believe, but perhaps the most important person a personal manifesto introduces you to is, in fact, yourself. At this age, there really is nothing more important than getting to know yourself. What better way to do that than to sit and jot down what you believe on a piece of paper? I've never actually done this, but I think it's definitely something I need to do. I feel like I have to know who I am before I can move on with my life. Before I graduate and go off to college, I think it would be a good thing to have a slight idea as to who I am. Yes, I know I'll change as I get older, but I think we are shaped the most towards the end of our teenage years. By proclaiming to ourselves what we believe, we will be able to have a solid base moving forward. What could be more important than that? Now how do you write a personal manifesto? Here's how: 

Step One: Establish your personal ideals, beliefs, and goals by writing statements about who you are on a deep level. Having trouble? Write statements such as, "I am ____," "I wish ____," "I believe ____," "I fear ____," "I love ____," "Happiness is ____," and "Right now I ____" on a piece of paper, then fill in the blanks. The more honest with yourself you are, the better.

Step Two: Ask yourself questions such as: What are my strengths? My weaknesses? Is this what the people who know me would say about me?

Step Three: Decide what the theme is from the statements you have written. Write an opening sentence that encapsulates this theme. Having trouble? Come back to this step later.

Step Four: Write the body of your manifesto by turning your thoughts from steps one and two into concrete beliefs and goals.

Step Five: Choose a title for your manifesto. Make sure it describes you.

Step Six: Build a support network of friends and family who can help you live out your manifesto. Not to worry, if you have true friends and family who love you, this should not be too difficult.

Step Seven: Develop a plan for living out the principles listed in your manifesto.

And there you have it! Personal manifesto done! Just try it. Writing a manifesto may just be the thing that helps you realize who you really are. You may not have as many readers as Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, but as long as you know what you believe, that's all that matters. Oh and if you're wondering where my manifesto is, I'm here to tell you that I'll be writing one in the near future. So how about you join me?

My favorite personal manifesto written by the beautiful Audrey Hepburn.

(Personal Manifesto How-To inspired by eHow Contributor Derek M. Kwait)