Everyone is born unique, despite the fact that many people say, "All babies are basically the same: they eat, cry, and poop, and that's really the extent of their daily lives." The truth is, people come into this amazing world as unique individuals, and as time goes by and they grow up, they are convinced by society and the media to conform to certain standards. These standards can be cultural, political or simply imposed by a group of friends. This is somewhat of a cycle that children and even adults go through. They are "weird" or "normal," and then someone convinces them that there's something wrong with them. From then on they have two choices: either they withstand the pressure to normalize their behavior and retain their status as individuals or they become the same as everyone else and achieve the new status as one of the sheep in the herd.
From experience I can say that it is rather difficult to retain your individuality, but at the end of the day, we have to remember that the people that have made groundbreaking achievements before us have all been somewhat different from their peers. Einstein didn't become Einstein because he said, "You know what? I'm gonna be the same as that other scientist guy over there." Shaun Ross didn't become a well-known professional model because he let his albinism define him. Don't let the category your birth or society places you in define you; instead, be the one who defines yourself. Being different doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with you. Being different means just that—you're not the same as everyone else. And guess what? That's okay.
The world that we live in today has the potential to be the most beautiful place ever, but that can't be when we ostracize those that we deem to be weird or abnormal or freaks just because they aren't like us. It's hard to live in a world where what people say is often contradictory, and one day they say curly hair is awesome, and the next day they say you shouldn't be caught dead without your hair straight. My philosophy is be who you want to be, and if you don't know who that is, choose a role model and follow their example. And when in doubt as to what to do or what to say or wear and so on, go with what first comes to mind, because it's usually what you believe in. This is a difficult life lesson for people to learn and put into action, but when you do, trust me, you'll thank yourself for it.
We all have one life to live, and it's no fun living your life as someone else and having regrets when you realize that you weren't you your whole life. Like Sydney Madwed once said, "If you want to be truly successful, invest in yourself to get the knowledge you need to find your unique factor. When you find it and focus on it and persevere, your success will blossom." And if anyone ever judges you for your individuality, just get up and say, "Excuse me? You're just jealous of my awesomeness!"
