Being yourself

Society often tells us that we can be anything that we want but we can never truly be ourselves.   Rather, we are expected to mold ourselves to be someone or something that we are not.  If we don’t fit that mold then people tend to judge us to the point that we can lose focus of who we are.   When a child first develops into an adolescent, they tend to enter a scene that is more social.   Additionally, they are usually met with a series of unwritten social rules that were not previously present.   By way of illustration, adolescents are expected to drop all child interests such as watching Disney movies or even talking about them.    Rather, they are expected to watch the news and talk about current events or sports with their peers.  Yet, if someone still does or talks about those things, they are considered as deviant individuals by their peers and friends who they played with while they were still children.   Meanwhile, their friends will often feel pressured by “The cool kids” to join them in disregarding these individuals as misfits.  Therefore, these “Misfits” eventually feel pressured to start acting and dressing like a teenager too.  Meanwhile, they begin hiding their true identity.

1.      Tell me about a time where you felt like you could not be yourself and how did react?

2.      When did you finally realize that it was ok to be yourself?

-For me:

1.When I got into high school, I stopped watching Disney films and started getting into the whole teen idol thing. I also tried to act like a teenager during that time, but I had no social skills.

2. I started attending conventions and discovered that lots of teens and adults who still enjoy dressing up Disney characters.