Shannon Blow

"To be yourself, is to be an individual". I can remember my mother saying that quote as if was yesterday. She did whatever she could to discourage me from longing to be like everyone else; whether it was me asking for a pair of Jordans or a new power ranger action figure. After while, I wasn't your typical kid dreaming of the ordinary things my peers were anymore, instead determined to stand out and be my own person. I felt it necessary to act in a way no one else did for my age, as well as talk and carry myself. Often recognized as gifted and talented, I considered myself different and "cutting edge". 

In 2012 however, it seems that brief fads along with pop culture has everyone thinking that unless you conform with society's status quo, its you who are weird so to speak or deserved to be twitpic'ed for self expression. SInce 2009, we have been subdued to fads such as 90's style haircuts like gumby's and high-tops, skinny jeans, blonde wiz khalifa streaks, planking, batmaning, cooking, the dougie, "sh* _____ says", cinnamon challenge, and the list is 4 times this long. Whether silly dances, or weird acts, there's times where all I see is a world of followers that have a skewed vision of what being unique is.  Individuality is nothing to torment or treat negatively. We each have distinct genes, fingerprints, etc.