We live in a world that celebrates normalcy and uniformity instead of individuality. The unfortunate consequence of prioritizing these ideals is the pity or judgment that is cast on anyone who deviates from what is regarded as the norm. Different should not be synonymous with less than, but that has come to be its connotation. If a human breaks up the conformity with their unique traits that are viewed as flaws, it has to be balanced out with some degree of tremendous talent. In doing this though society is committing an atrocious error. Individual talents may be overlooked and relationships or connections may be missed if we are too busy judging those who are different from the norm.

Everyone has different capabilities and shortcomings, different things they can and cannot do. Society has come to value only certain capabilities, overlooking, labeling and judging those who excel in different areas or are different in appearance. People should not have to prove their worth, but being different has come to be a term that sentences the afflicted individual to a battle to prove their abilities.

The celebration of a loosely defined “normal” and negativity surrounding different has resulted in the rise of political correctness. Across various aspects, such as the wellbeing of different nations or the physical state of different individuals, sugarcoated labels are rising and the usage of more honest labels are viewed as increasingly offensive. Terms such as “handicapped” or “differently abled” are coined to surrounding conditions in positivity. Countries where starvation and war run rampant are simply called “developing.” These nicer sounding names shroud a majority of society in a blissful ignorance. In actuality, changing the term does not change the reality, it simply makes the reality easier to ignore.

Words should not be used to offend, but they also should not be feared. Words have power and oftentimes the words with the most power are the words that society has deemed inappropriate and afflicted groups have reclaimed. Differences that set apart individuals should not be shrouded with safer terms in an attempt to establish conformity and make individuals appear more normal, they should be embraced along with the words associated.

Differences are not to be abolished or ignored or feared, but that does not mean they make life simple for the afflicted individual. On the contrary, differences and the experiences they incite can induce complications to an individual’s life. But these individual experiences and how we deal with them also shape our identity. People cannot control everything that happens to them or the circumstances that surround them, but they can control how they personally deal with them. Individuals can allow their experiences to determine their identity or the other way around. If you choose to wallow in shortcomings and unfortunate experiences, you will come to define your identity with those shortcomings. You will inevitably allow the bad things that happen to you to dictate your life.

On the other hand, you can live in the present and dwell in happiness instead of allowing negative happenstances to define you, your identity, and the future course of your life. Inevitably, identity is a matter of choice. We do not get complete control or choice over how we are viewed or what happens to us, but we get to choose how we deal with our experiences, how we let them shape us, and how we proceed forward in life.