true!

I blame my infatuation with being unique on my early childhood. I don't know why exactly this is, but I have a feeling that being unusual as far as education goes when I was little had a lasting impact on me. Maybe I've just always thought of myself as different, not necessarily in any particular way, and I like it that way. Well, wherever it started, I like being unusual. I really do. When I'm trying actively to be unique, I bask in the knowledge that people realize that I seem abnormal. (I don't mean abnormal in the "What's that, Igor? You got me an abnormal brain? Noooo!!" sense, but rather as a synonym for unusual, because it bugs me to use one word a bunch of times over.)
When I was younger, I was really shy around people I didn't know. Let me say for the record that being shy is overrated. Being outgoing is wayyy better by all accounts. Anyhow, being shy, I was afraid to really assert my uniquocity. I was way too much of a shrinking violet to be outstanding (by that I mean "standing out", not "really great"), and therefore kind of blended in, as far as appearance went, or personality to a certain extent (I was shy, but it wasn't like I was personalityness). Since the shy period has ended (around sixth grade) I've listened to my little voice way more. I don't know why exactly this is -- maybe I just changed, maybe being around a lot more people in a public school setting forced me to be, maybe because I have more friends, I don't know -- but I like it a lot more this way.
Most of the time now I follow my own voice and ideas, but my parents' opinions do matter a lot to me. I trust and respect them, so generally if they think a certain way I'll at least consider their ideas. I care about the opinions of people I like and respect -- I want my parents, my teachers, my family, my friends etc. to think well of me. When I'm meeting someone for the first time or otherwise am going to make an important impression on them, I sometimes worry about what they think of me. When I start feeling worried, I just remind myself that if they're not going to appreciate me for who I am, then they're not worth worrying over. In general, though, I don't really think to worry about others' opinions of me.
At this point, I find it fairly easy to be myself. This is probably because I'm not so radical that people actually have a problem with me. I don't know how it is in other friends groups, but my friends are very nice and tolerant and kind and supportive and overall great friends, and we're fairly diverse -- we don't have any of that "You've got to dress like us and talk like us and get grades like us and hate the people that we hate or else you're not our friend" nonsense. And the people in this local society are the same, I think most Averill Parkians are tolerant (as far as I can tell). The only example I have of voice-squashiness would have to be the not-very-scandalous fact that some people tend to ask my mom when my little brother is going to cut his fabulous, wavy, shoulder-length, reddish-brown hair. But they're not actually squashing his voice or anything. Like I said...fortunately, a lame example.
So in general, I love being unique and true to myself. I try not to care about what others think of me and be secure in my opinion of myself and 99.9% of the time, it works. I think being true to oneself is one of the most important strenghts a person could have. So yeah. Go that.