Fitting in
I don't really buy this whole 'I was miserable cause I tried to fit in and now I'm just myself and I'm really happy' idea.

I don't know about you, but I was told ad nauseam from a very young age how important it is just to be yourself. People will like you if you're yourself. they said. So, not really having a clue what myself was, I set about being it the hardest I damn well could.

My point is, Surely I'm only being myself, whoever that is, cause people told me to? Cause I wanted people to like me? If they'd left be to my own devices, who would I have been? Being yourself cause people tell you to be yourself is just as bad as pretending to like indie just to fit in, in my considered opinion. If you have to be given permission to act in a certain way, it's not really yourself, is it?

I would elaborate, at length, but I've got about three hours till my stats exam and I'd like to fail with as much dignity as possible, so that's it for now.
(WarneMarsh My priority for frivolity begets quality jollity, Fri 16 Jan 2009, 11:14, 2 replies)

fact
'Self' is loose construct of mood, environment, influence, learning and embedded psychology. What we consider our self is not what others think. Who's right?
(frankspencer, Fri 16 Jan 2009, 11:24, closed)

Very true
Also, personality is a very fluid thing. I can't remember who said that, but they were right. No one's ever the same person they are with one set of friends as they are with another. Where can this quasi-mystical self be pinned down?

I think the point I was trying to make though is that trying to be different for the sake of being 'yourself' is just as bad as pretending to like football. Not that I'm not guilty of it, I'm sure a lot of my weirdness (not weird in a 'hilarious odd socks way', just my unusual tastes and way of speaking) has been cultivated simply to stand out, I'm just saying. I think that was the point anyway * tries to avoid smug self-referential ending where he points out he's no longer the same self as the one that wrote the original post. fails*
(WarneMarsh My priority for frivolity begets quality jollity, Fri 16 Jan 2009, 20:29, closed)