What is “normal”? This question has been proposed as a means to ignite philosophical conversation among those that are incompetent to discuss such a notion and to those that are, the inquiry remains either as simple or as complex as one chooses to make it. If this is true, what then could a high school boy possibly add to such a conversation?
While I am
not attempting to revolutionize the discussion of normality, what has always
struck me as fascinating is how contradictory the subject is to us as a society.
Being “unique” results in being shunned; individuality remains overrated.
Attaching the adjective “different” to a person has become a negative
description, but we are told time and time again to “stand out”. Even when one
tries to be part of the crowd, the attempt to be accepted has been declared as
an act of falling into peer pressure. There is a wonder as to why humans divide
into their own social circles when the reality is that it is the process that
we undergo to avoid being singled out for our characteristics. By associating
ourselves with those that are similar, we are able to escape the fear of not
belonging. Under this mindset, the possibility for society to ever have a
standard is nonexistent. Instead, we
remain collective to those that will not only tolerate our qualities, but
encourage what defines us.
Then
again, there is always the alternative: to renounce everything that has been
stated as absolute fluffy nonsense that
sounds as though a John Green class were attended on how to touch the hearts of
teenagers. This disagreement does not hinder the original idea, and the
skepticism is good. Such a disconnection showcases how the distinctiveness of a
person’s identity does not have to comply with another’s and thus results in
the very world that exists before us. For, as individuals, we must live both in
our world and in the world of others. There will always be the exterior that we
polish in order to hide the interior that we camouflage. There will always be
those that we consider acquaintances and those that we invest in as friends.
And, there will always be the personal beliefs and questions we keep to
ourselves because we are petrified of being humiliated for being offbeat from
social norms.
Why do we
need a destination when we walk? As humans, it seems we require a reason to do
anything, but when was the last time you walked (especially teenagers) to
simply enjoy walking? Why are we afraid of public speaking? I know when I am in
an audience; there is only an unenjoyable, cringing feeling from listening to a
speaker who stumbles. If overpopulation is such an issue, why are cures and
better medicine continuously developed? What if I believe shaving cream causes
hair to grow faster and is a ploy to sell more shaving cream? What if I believe that cell phone companies
are decades ahead in technology, and only release minor improvements every year
to continuously make a profit? What if I
believe that a viable way to use seawater as a mainstream fuel source has been
discovered, but is being suppressed by oil companies and the government? What if I believe that foldable tablets will
be the next big thing in electronics and that perhaps even Ebola is just a
government distraction for the public.
Besides essentially depicting a personal and very obscure
dating profile, revealing such thoughts can illustrate that whether such
perspectives are justified or unjustified, what matters is the fact that these
viewpoints are ones that have merit as personal opinions and choices. Openly,
these reflections could easily be considered “weird.” or “ridiculous,” in a
negative sense, going against society’s teaching that people should “stand
out.” What these extremities encompass
is how individuals view daily aspects in such differing manners, not as a
congruous whole. Being “normal” will always be a cycling process, but in the
end, what normality depends on is whether you choose to fit social norms or
have social norms fit you.
No comments:
Post a Comment