Let's talk about something...

You know what's an interesting concept?

Individuality.

It's interesting for a couple reasons:

1. I think we can agree it's considered a virtue by some
2. It's strived for by many
3. I don't think anyone really knows what it is...

This last reason is the main point of interest to me. In past posts, I've discussed or touched on this idea of individuality, but what is it really? Let's see if we can't put a dent in the definition.

So the first thing I think about when I hear the word individuality is being your own person. For example if someone asked me how to be an individual, I would tell them: be true to yourself. Basically, don't do things that YOU (your true self) wouldn't do.

This raises a new question: How does one stay true to themselves?

This seems like it should be pretty easy to do right? Just do what you think is right. And who knows you better than you... right? This is where the tricky part comes in. Cause this is where outside influence comes in.

Can you be an individual while still responding to outside influence?

Yes.

Can you be an individual while letting yourself be ruled by outside influence?

No.

This, I believe, is the difference. You are who you are. You know it better than anyone. From the way you wear your hair to the shoes you buy, to the house you live in, the things you say, your minor movements and indeed all of your mannerisms and every aspect of your personality and every fiber of your being. That is you.


But the part of you that plays the most influence in individuality are your choices. So if this is true, it would follow that since individuality is about one's own self, then your choices (if your aim is to be an individual) must be your own.

So how do we distinguish our own choices from the ones made for us? Earlier, I said that you could respond to outside influence while still retaining individuality. So if you must make your own choices to remain an individual, then how can an individual still be affected by outside influence?

Good questions. I shall do my best to answer them.

I think that influence is inevitable. It would be absurd to think that someone could live purely on their own influence. That's just ridiculous. So, the question becomes not about rejecting all foreign influence, rather deciding for YOURSELF (<--you can tell it's important cause it's in caps) which influences are good and bad. Which ones you will choose to let influence you and who you are, and which you will not.

Make sense?

I'll give a quick example of what I mean and then wrap this up.

ex. 1: Being an individual: Johnny Smith sees an ad on TV for a pair of shoes. He likes them. He thinks, wow, I would look swell in those shoes. So he saves up some money and buys them and wears them when he wants to.

ex. 2: Not being an individual: Johnny Smith seen an ad on TV for a pair of shoes. He doesn't really know what to think about them. But all of his friends have this pair of shoes, and he wants to fit in. So he shells out the money for this pair of shoes that, really, he might not have wanted in the first place. Johnny wears the shoes.

I hope my thoughts on this have been clear. Questions, comments, arguments, praise, qualifications and all other sorts of response to this entry (as always) are more than welcome.

P.s. RANDOM THOUGHT: If every "J-Walker" at Penn State got a ticket over the course of one day, how much money do you think State College would rake in? (If you're commenting, please don't just respond to this, I'm really very curious about the concept of individuality and this last question I thought of literally a minute ago, thanks!)