Currently, the "hipster" & "minimalist" trends are in. Everyone is trying to be the most hipster girl at the coffee bar. Or the most rad looking dude in the frat or the most carefree person in the group. Or the one with everything they "need" but yet so minimalist that they must "live off the land".

It's the hot new thing to be "independent," "bold," "proud of who you are," & "carefree." Its the hot new thing to be the one that appears as if they don't care what others think of them, whether that be by not shaving their armpits, or shaving half of their head, having luxurious long hair or facial hair, having dreads or really mess natural hair, wearing clothes that appear ripped and worn, wearing old "vintage" styled clothes to show others they are accepting and love all culture.

Below is a picture of an example of the modern day male "hipster." Look at them, take it all in. What do you see?

Don't you see the similarities? The flannel or plaid is the main contributor to this trend. Also, notice most of them have denim on. Also, they all have some type of nice shades, or nice thick glamorously groomed hair or facial hair.

Each of these individuals probably identifies as independent and "one-of-a-kind" in the way that they dress and live their lives. (and granted no two humans are the same so in a way it is true).

But when you look at it objectively, they are all just conforming to the trends that are of today's culture. Aren't we all? We think to ourselves, "wow I look so independent today, my outfit is totally my own" or "I don't care about what others think about me, I am proud to be who I am and wear whatever I want."

Yet..... We get dressed in the morning consciously thinking about what will look the best, yet we claim not to care what others think of us. We do care about what people think.

We shop and buy the things that we think are with the trends and original, yet we know in the back of our minds that if the store carries 20 of that same hipster shirt, there are going to be 20 other people out there with the same hipster shirt as you. We are not original.

We try to leave our own independent and different lives, but from an objective standpoint looking in, we are all still the same in a lot of ways.

Whether it be any version of the Care-free, spirited Hipster from the 2010 "Animal Cruelty - Free & Vegan" Trend, the 2011 "Colorful Crafty Gal" Trend, the 2012 "Chic Traveler" Trend, the 2013 "Festival Flower Girl" Trend, 2014 "Lumbersexual" Trend, or the 2015 "Coffeeshop Sophisticate" Trend; they all have conformity in common (Paste Magazine).

They are all different and weird, and the people that live these trends in their everyday lives are original in their own way; but from the outside perspective, they are all just people still trying to stay with the trends that do actually care about what others think of them.

I guess what I am trying to say here is that: we all conform in one way or another. There is no such thing as "original" anymore these days. Stop calling yourself a hipster and thinking your outfit is all that and a bag of chips when you still look like half of the other people your age.

Stop trying to be different and yet buying the same things as everyone else. Stop acting like your better than others because it appears you don't care what people think about you when you do.

No matter what new trends happen, no matter what new styles come into play with the new eras, there is never going to be a day where most of the people do not conform. Our world revolves around conformity and about how to top one another.

Its part of what makes America, America. There is no need to be ashamed of conformity when so many generations before us have done the same and so many after us will continue to do so.

--> Thanks to the Paste Magazine article photo that had all the 2010-2015 trend names in it. https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/06/the...