Conformity or Non-Conformity Narrative
An individual is the one who takes pride in being who he/she is without pretending anything. He/she does what they think is right, regardless of what everyone might think or feel; going on with their lives and not letting people drag you down or push you back. Having the guts to stand up for your beliefs and actions even though you know nobody’s going to be there to lend you a helping hand. It’s like being a rebellious person, but someone who does the correct thing.
To become an individualist, you have to recognize yourself first. Not all people in this world are alike. Everyone is born with individuality. We acknowledge our individualism when we get older. We find out what our aim in life is, what we want to become, or how much potential do we have in us to achieve something. If you observe yourself and think that I shouldn’t be here, or among these people, or in this environment, you’re not true to yourself. If you just think about whether or what you have to be acting like in a state or why you are even present in that particular position, that is not individualism; it means you are just following the crowd.
When I look back at my life decisions, a lot of moments pop up in my mind where I have been an individualist and also some of the situations where I just went with the flow and pretended what I am not. Life comes with its ups and downs which teaches us a lot of valuable aspects of life. We meet people with different mindsets and school of thought and how they treat us makes a significant impact on our personality.
In my college time, I wanted to have fewer friends who are loyal enough to be with me. But there came a little twist where I found myself chatting and laughing, and hanging out with a group of six girls. Deep inside my heart, I knew this is soon going to break. With the passage of time, I noticed that the people who I’m calling my ‘friends’ are making fun of me and my every little action or anything I believe in.
Due to my humble nature and also because I was a little afraid of taking a stand for my self-respect, I always remained quiet. I convinced myself upon the fact that come on; these people are your friends and friends are supposed to say stuff like that for the sake of fun and having a good time laughing.
My attitude towards this made them think that whatever they say doesn’t have any severe impact on my sentiments. This pointing of fingers towards me was also done in public due to the expectation they developed that I am never going to say anything to them in a harsh way but just become a barrel of laugh instead.
These course of events made me highly emotional. Not speaking up for myself and also unable to share my feelings with anyone made me aggressive at home. My behavior at home changed negatively; getting angry at small things, talking rudely to all family members.
I wanted to change my situation as I knew that drastic times call for drastic measures. To achieve something big, some serious action has to be taken. So one day, instead of sitting on the fence, I let my heart out to the people responsible for all this. Maybe I shouldn’t be saying that they were responsible for my condition, I am the one to be blamed for letting everyone speak ill or make fun of me. After that day of speaking up for my integrity, everything changed. I came to know who were my friends and who were there just having their good time, who understood my situation and who didn’t even bother.
It may carry no importance to other people, but for me, it was a life-changing moment. I understood how and when to show other people their limits, so they are unable to say or do anything against my respect. Having fun and laughing at jokes is another thing, but making others feel belittled and of no use is an entirely different thing. You lose your confidence with every passing day. And that’s what occurred to me. My self-confidence shattered.
But yes, in such situations it’s only you who can change your life by stepping forward and speaking up. Otherwise, people around you get used to your attitude and expect the same every single time. You conform to their expectations and demands, and as a result, lose your dignity and confidence.
Being confident in who you are is a big part of individuality. You should do something which you think is right, no matter what anyone thinks. If you have faith in yourself, other people will start believing in you too. Knowing that you accomplished everything and overcame the sufferings that life throws at you depicts your individuality.
In the end, everyone will see the beauty in a person that overpowered all the things life had thrown on its way. All around you will apprehend that the person was not a dupe regardless of what they went through, or put themselves through. Only you have the power to make people bring you down by letting yourself as low as everyone else that has tried in the past but has not succeeded because of the individual inside you.
Works Cited
Naturally_Talented, Bogota NJ. “Being An Individual.” Teen Ink, www.teenink.com/hot_topics/what_matters/article/466125/Being-An-Individual/.
