I see comments on social media all the time like “We should bring this back,” “I wish this were a trend,” or “I wish dressing like this was more normalized.”
My only response to these comments is: Be your own person.
I understand the struggle; doing things “out of the norm” is scary. We live our entire lives fitting into a box of what society expects of us. We dress the way we see influencers dress. We eat the same food we see others eat.
It’s partially an envy problem; we see a life different from our own that we deem better and desperately want. We envy a life we don’t have, so we do everything possible to replicate it. We don’t even consider the unique aspects that represent us individually; instead, we only think, “Wow, that person’s life is so cool. I want to be just like them.”
Nearly nothing we do is unique; everything is influenced by someone else, and while this isn’t entirely negative, it is diminishing our creativity and ability to act independently.
Our generation has struggled with this lack of creativity since the influx of influencers and social media. I know I have been a victim of this myself. I see a cute outfit on Pinterest or Instagram and wonder how to replicate it. Where can I find each item? What changes can I make so that I look identical to this person?
We aren’t truly ourselves anymore. We don’t do things just because we want to do them; we think about how others will think of us. We think about the ways we would be perceived if we acted in a way that was authentic to ourselves.
This has been a problem throughout history, so it definitely is not unique to our generation. However, you might find that people are now more accepting than you initially assumed.
My advice: If you want to dress a certain way, style your hair, listen to music or read books that others might seem “weird,” do it anyway. You’ll find that it can be freeing to be yourself without the social constraints. I guarantee you’ll find at least one person who thinks you’re super cool for being authentically yourself.
Lauren Douda is a freshman secondary education and English major from Lexington, South Carolina. Lauren can be reached at [email protected]
