Noncomformity?
I feel like there's been a general spirit of "YEAH! INDIVIDUALITY!" floating around society. Ya know, the "be yourself!" and "don't be one of the sheeple!" stuff. And... I have an issue with it.
See, the thing is, if you're acting out of the norm for the sheer sake of nonconformity... well, you may not be conforming, but you're buying into the underlying concept of conformity. That is to say- you're changing yourself to gain positive attention/to be thought of in a positive way and generally accepted. Whether you're changing yourself to stop being "weird" or to "not be boring" doesn't actually make a ton of difference. Both are destructive. This kind of "nonconformity" stuff is just a new trend.
What you really need to do is consider your options without thinking about what others think. If what the crowd is doing makes sense, do it! If it doesn't- so what!
Maybe it's SLIGHTLY better to go for the "quirky" and "weird" side of bending to please other people. But, I do think people are willing to go with these cute quirks and weird things because it's much easier to be "normal" with a few endearing quirks than actually thinking everything through.
Not to say I'm perfect either. I still think through what about myself I can and can't reveal to casual acquaintances; I still carefully feel strangers out. But I've changed my goal; not to avoid the crowd, but to disregard it.
See, the thing is, if you're acting out of the norm for the sheer sake of nonconformity... well, you may not be conforming, but you're buying into the underlying concept of conformity. That is to say- you're changing yourself to gain positive attention/to be thought of in a positive way and generally accepted. Whether you're changing yourself to stop being "weird" or to "not be boring" doesn't actually make a ton of difference. Both are destructive. This kind of "nonconformity" stuff is just a new trend.
What you really need to do is consider your options without thinking about what others think. If what the crowd is doing makes sense, do it! If it doesn't- so what!
Maybe it's SLIGHTLY better to go for the "quirky" and "weird" side of bending to please other people. But, I do think people are willing to go with these cute quirks and weird things because it's much easier to be "normal" with a few endearing quirks than actually thinking everything through.
Not to say I'm perfect either. I still think through what about myself I can and can't reveal to casual acquaintances; I still carefully feel strangers out. But I've changed my goal; not to avoid the crowd, but to disregard it.
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