I like to think of myself as a non-conformist. I do things because I want to do them, not because I'm supposed to do them, or because everyone else does them, or because it's just what's expected at me. I consciously look at things that I'm doing or listening to or wearing and deciding if it's something I actually want for myself or whether it's something I'm doing just because everyone else is doing it.

On the flip side, and at this point, often more commonly, I also look at something I'm doing and question whether I'm doing it just because nobody else is, or if I actually want to do it. If I'm not doing something just because everyone else does.

Because there are two sides to the non-conformity coin, and I like to walk the thin, ridged line circling it. I do dress so that I stick out in a crowd. That's something that I like to do. But the balance between doing that because I like it or doing that because nobody in their right mind would wear it... that's the thinner line.

There comes a point in your non-conformity-career where you start to do completely wild things, or just despise things just because everyone else likes it. And that's the point where not conforming is just not conforming for not conforming's sake, rather than for individuality's sake. Because there is no harm in doing what other people do or liking what other people like. If you genuinely like something that's popular, there's nothing wrong with that - but the key words here are 'genuinely like.'

In our culture there is a lot of pressure to do things because the 'cool kids' are doing that- the hipster 'movement' started off unique, but then everyone was a hipster and that, too, became a cool thing to do. The same is true on college campuses - whether it's because you see everyone wearing a school hoodie or you just think it's comfortable, it's a mass of similarly-dressed students.

I remember being in one of my classes a few semesters ago. Two people in front of me were talking about a guy at the front of the room, a guy who basically wore normal clothes but wore them however he wanted. The girl asked what he was wearing, and the guy spoke back to her, "Oh, he just wears what normal people would never put together."

And looking back on it, it's a phrase that I don't really like. 'Normal people.' For the non-conformist-conspiracy-theorist-shakes-fist-at-society in me, that's just as apocalyptic as the words 'nuclear warfare.' Normal people. Boys in basketball shorts and tennis shoes and team sweatshirts. Girls in tight jeans and sweaters and scarves. It's a mass so thick that I'm sometimes incapable of really seeing everyone as anything but a mass.

On the other hand - I'm sure a lot of those people like those clothes. And I can't fault them for that. My philosophy has been, do what you want as long as you're not hurting someone else. So if someone wants to wear the uniform of the 'normal people' rather than digging through thrift stores to find the weirdest, grungiest, oldest clothes, then they're perfectly free to do it.

But I hate it when people are forced into that. In rural North Dakota, less so on the college campuses but definitely in rural high schools, you're an abomination if you don't own a pair of cowboy boots. I remember I heard someone talking about this one girl who was new to their rural school 'faking' being a cowgirl with jeans and cowboy boots. And honestly, I felt bad for the girl - it was obvious that the speaker had nothing for derision for the girl, but to feel like you have to dress a certain way to fit in is something that I hate.

So I make my point to not fit in. I make it my point to stand out as much as I possibly can, whether that be with ill-advised floral waffle-weaves or dresses that make me look like a '70s office worker. But hey. You want to be a cowgirl, who am I to tell you no? And I'm still willing to enjoy popular bands like Twenty-One Pilots and Fall Out Boy. I'm not going to shun the new best-seller just because it's a best-seller. True non-conformity comes when you actually embrace yourself, and actually do what makes you, the individual, happy. That's something to strive for. Not complete and total acceptance into the pop culture machine, but not so completely out there that you don't know what you're doing anymore.

The moral of the story is: do what you want. You'll be happier for it.