“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” –Albert Camus

Here is a sad truth: many industries hinge on us thinking that there is something very wrong with who we are…something only their product can help us fix. The pharmaceutical industry wants to sell us medication to regulate our thoughts and feelings; to desensitize us from the challenges of daily life. If they can make our lives easier, then they can make it so we can’t live without their brand of medication and we will keep coming back for more.

The food industry puts processed chemicals on the shelves so that we will become addicted, over-consume, and then feel bad about it…and that’s why the weight loss industry is booming. It goes even further than body image. Our consumer culture seeps into every aspect of our being. We need to dress a certain way, decorate our homes a certain way, exist in a certain way, in order to feel that we are valuable members of society.

Have you ever looked around you and questioned your worth? Have you felt isolated from real connection because of how drawn you are to the device in your hand? Do you ever wonder if you have become commodified too?

There is so much pressure to participate in this: to base our self-worth on the material things we have, but as human beings, we are so much more than that. That’s the aspect that we all lose sight of. We work nonstop to make money, to buy things to “fix” what’s not really broken.

When we like ourselves for reasons that are not superficial, we rebel against all of the industries that profit from us feeling otherwise. We rebel against consumerism because we become aware that all of that stuff is just extra. New clothes are not integral to happiness; conforming to what others think we should be based on how they internalize these ideals will get us nowhere. All this does is continue a cycle: it makes us believe that we are somehow less valuable if we do not fit into the mold.

But imagine a world where every film and every song was a copy of a copy of a copy. If no one was brave enough to challenge the mainstream, we would continuously be fed the same perspectives for all of eternity. If no one questioned this system that we are all a part of, everything would stay stagnant and there would be no progress.

Whatever the reason may be, being different is guaranteed to come with turmoil…but it needs to be done. Because if it’s not, the world is missing out on something that is truly original and unique. What if Bob Dylan was afraid of being different? Or Dr. Seuss? Or Van Gogh? Where would art, philosophy, music, literature and humanity be if any of the great minds were too afraid to contribute their voice?

Being eccentric is a beautiful thing, but it can come at a high cost: it means being misunderstood and sometimes even rejected by society. That’s why some people need to go through life as the weird kid. They need to build from the bricks that are thrown at them so that they can say what needs to be said. They need to recognize their worth when no one else sees it, because what other people are searching for is specific to what they think is valuable.

Rejecting this standard of how to live our lives is an act of rebellion. Being who we are, regardless of how unorthodox or "weird" that might be, is an incredibly brave thing to do.