It's all a matter of opinion

RIGA - You can never be sure whether something is good or bad, judging only by the words of somebody else. Even if a billion people say that all bulldozers should be painted in yellow, don't rush to take their side, because there are still 5 billion people left to disagree, and your initial reflex to stick with the majority (and you'd think that a billion people should be it), could pull the rug out from under you.

So basically you end up in a world where an opinion by a entire continent could make as much as no difference at all. So why care then, about what people say? We're so intimidated by society, that we don't even wear the things we like; we wear what the others would take as 'normal.'
Traditions are the inheritance of the past, not the guidelines how to live your life. You can either accept them or not, it's fully up to you, and no one has the right to judge you.

So, if you've dreamt of getting a tattooed Pentagram on your forehead ever since you were in the second grade, go ahead and do it. Be different! Why should anybody else care? I know I don't...
Take Alexander Rybak, for instance. He's different. Every recently emerged star has gone along the glamorous path, trying to appeal to people by wearing a ridiculous amount of bling. On the other hand, he has chosen a completely different character. He is a boy from the provinces, playing his violin and singing love-songs. He wears a basic black T-shirt and goofy boots. He is as simple as can be. He is one of us.

And despite him not wearing a platinum necklace from Gucci, not having a number of top-selling albums and posters glued up on the walls by teenage girls, he won the Eurovision 2009, and is now touring around the world, without even getting a proper haircut. And I have no doubt that in a year or two his songs will be playing from every iPod in the world, 24/7.
So if you think of it, given that you or I knew how to play the violin, we could easily have been in his place. I could have gone to see YOU perform in Riga's club Godvil last Thursday, and you could have been the idol of all the boys and girls who have a plain yellow sweater.

In other words, it doesn't matter who you're trying to be, what matters is who you really are. So as long as you are a little interesting and a bit useful, go and be yourself, and don't listen to anybody else, because there's a pretty good chance that they'll end up being a minority. And while they'll be crying about their failure, you can go to the Circus. I bet that you haven't been there for a while, have you?
This Friday, Oct. 16, Riga Circus continues to hold a show called 'White Tigers and White Lions.' Once the Romanian founders of the show performed in Moscow at the beginning of 2009, they couldn't leave the arena, the Grand Moscow State Circus, for 9 months because of the immense demand for more.

Bear in mind that this show is rather unique, taking into consideration that there are only 3 albino lions left in the world, two of which are taking part in the show. And the lions and tigers aren't the only animals. There will be magic tricks with cheetahs, camels and Friesian horses that haven't been through the doors of Riga Circus for more than 40 years.
But don't worry if you don't get there this Friday, they'll be performing again and again until Nov. 1; you'll have a chan