Sunday, June 28, 2009

Conformity Versus Individuality | Tin Iglesias


As a human being my life is centered on the thin line that divides conformity and individuality. Many times I am baffled and rushed, and I draw this line too short or too long, consequently being excessively of a conformist or an individual.

Conformity is vital to life. Humans, being multifaceted animals, live in a society that functions as a whole. If there is an inaccuracy, the entire system may disintegrate. But, I think it is perfectly natural. People naturally want to belong to something bigger and be accepted by others. Nevertheless in modern terms, this approval can only be attained by going further than natural conformity and pacing into accepted conformity. At that firm stage, we tend to go after the same trends in style and personal taste, whether it is fashion, music, movies or even morals.

Individuality, resembling conformity, is vital to life even though contemporary man may not acknowledge its value. At one point, people want to be different from all the rest in one way or another. So we might form our opinions based on what we really feel. Notwithstanding, sooner or later we are forced to restrain our impulsive desires so that society does not label us as strange or weird, merely because we fear being alone.

Modern life is truly confusing, so sometimes our vision is blurred and our choices, made in the midst of perplexity, may force us in tremendous directions of either conformity or individuality. We cannot have one without the other. We cannot have conformity unless there are individuals to conform. And we cannot have individuality unless there is conformity to break free of. I strongly believe that conformity may govern our lives, but there is always a chance to make a mark, to become more of an individual than a clone. To renounce our identity by following the crowd is to deny the world of our potentially unique contribution. Although I care what other people think, because I think, and therefore I value thinking even if it is not solely mine. Caring what other people think is an indisputable truth of being a human being, and an utter necessity for being a creatively thinking one.

♥ Tin Iglesias

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