“All of us are born as originals, but many die as photocopies.” — Carlo Acutis, age 15

The Millennial Prophet of Originality

Carlo Acutis did not live long. But he lived a meaningful and impactful life. He died of leukemia in 2006 at 15. Still, in that short time, he built websites cataloging Eucharistic miracles, taught himself computer science, made friends across social divides, and through everything, he was a kid who wore Nikes and jeans, gamed, coded, and laughed with the homeless. He prayed as if he were in direct conversation with God. He was what a saint looks like when born into the broadband era.

He never preached fire and brimstone. He didn’t need to. Through his suffering, he remained true to himself and his convictions. No mask. No role play. No algorithmic optimization. And because of that, he stood out. Not because he tried to, but because so few others dare to.

He saw what social media was doing even before it became our overlords. He noticed that young people were becoming copies of each other, caught in a feedback loop of comparison and imitation. He didn’t judge them for it, but he refused to join them. And so his message wasn’t just theological—it was existential. His message:

• Don’t trade your originality for approval.
• You were made on purpose. Don’t live by accident.

Why Is This So Hard?

This should be easy. It’s written in every child’s weirdness. It echoes in every rebel’s song. We hear it from Socrates, Jesus, Kierkegaard, Maya Angelou, Mister Rogers, and yes, even Taylor Swift when she tells girls to shake it off.

So why do we still fail this lesson, generation after generation? Let’s ask the fundamental question: Is there a force—something more profound than individual sin—that pushes us to conform? And if so, what is it?

Possibility #1: Entropy Wears a Mask

Could it be that conformity is the natural path of least resistance, the psychological equivalent of gravity pulling us into sameness?

In physics, entropy increases. Systems become less ordered over time unless energy is applied. Maybe in society, originality is order, and without deliberate effort, without spiritual or cultural energy, we slide into mediocrity and mimicry.

To be yourself in a conformist world takes effort. And effort takes energy. And many of us are exhausted.

Possibility #2: Our Institutions Reward Copies

From schools to jobs to social media, the systems we live in often reward the “well-behaved photocopy.”

• Schools test for right answers, not original thinking.
• Employers want reliable workers, not disruptive visionaries.
• Platforms favor the familiar, the trending, the already-successful template.

So it’s not just laziness or sin. It’s optimization. If we’re not careful, we train kids to conform not because they’re bad, but because it’s easier to survive that way.

Possibility #3: Fear, Trauma, and the Myth of Safety

Being yourself is vulnerable. It’s scary. If you stand out, you might be mocked, isolated, or worse. Especially for kids who’ve been hurt or left out before, copying the crowd feels like armor.

So, perhaps tragically, conformity is a survival strategy—one we adopt early and never learn how to shed.

Possibility #4: There Are Agents of Control

Let’s not pretend it’s all accidental.

History shows us that there are always those who benefit from a population of obedient copies.

• Propaganda depends on sameness.
• Censorship loves conformity.
• Authoritarians thrive on obedience.

Perhaps we’re not just drifting into a photocopy status. Maybe some forces are pushing us there: media algorithms, political machines, educational models that fear rebellion.

This is not a conspiracy theory. It’s a pattern as old as the Empire. Carlo Acutis isn’t just a Catholic, beatification candidate, or the soon-to-be first millennial saint. He is a prophet, a teacher, a role model, and a kid we should listen to. His message is simple:

Be real. Stay weird. Love hard. Serve others. Don’t die a copy.

And we need prophets like him more than ever—not because they fix the world, but because they remind us it’s still possible to choose light even in the darkest of systems.

Carlo wasn’t trying to be different. He was just being himself. And because that is so unusual, the world noticed. And this time, the oppression and repression did not steal Carlo’s light.

So the next time a kid acts out, colors outside the lines, asks strange questions, or refuses to say the pledge, pause. Support them. That might be their originality trying to survive. And if society keeps crushing those moments, we’ll keep killing the prophets before they grow.

What Now?

We don’t have all the answers. But we know the questions that need to be asked:

• Why does our system treat sameness as safer than our individuality, the essence that makes us human?
• Why do we say every child is special, then demand standard test scores?
• Why do we venerate saints like Carlo, then shame kids who walk like him?
• And how do we redesign a world where originality is not a liability?

This article is a celebration of Carlo and the prophets that came before him who just want us to respect ourselves and each other. Maybe we can finally get this right.

To the children and adults who do not yet know Carlo’s Gospel, he kept it simple for us:

You are not broken. You’re just not a copy.

Write that on every chalkboard, type it into every algorithm, and whisper it into the ears of the next prophet still learning to walk.