“Self-expression is almost always discouraged by the cruel judgment of others in various ways, and I believe that we should learn to let people present themselves as they please.”
In today’s society, everybody is expected to look and act just like everyone else. To talk the same, act the same, dress the same… But, what happens when some people stray away from that? What if they want to present themselves in a unique light, in a way that truly reflects who they are on the inside? Whether it be colorful and intricate, or dark and intriguing, nobody is actually confined to the expectations of the world around us.
However, when somebody decides to break free from this imaginary mold, it is often met with repulsion and ridicule. You could be minding your own business, expressing yourself in a way that really doesn’t bother anybody else, and find yourself being laughed at and having people take pictures of you without permission. Self-expression is almost always discouraged by the cruel judgment of others in various ways, and I believe that we should learn to let people present themselves as they please.
One of the many detrimental desires of society is the feeling of needing to “fit in”. To assimilate and blend in with the people around you to avoid the possibility of them leaving you out or poking fun at you, just for doing what you want to do. So, oftentimes, when those who harbor that insecurity see somebody who is free from the societal norms, a feeling of great envy builds up inside of them, creating the urge to discourage and take that person down in some way.
There have been multiple situations where people have filmed someone they find strange to make fun of them, or even just blatantly pointed and laughed, which is surprisingly still seen in today’s age. Though you would think that times have progressed to a point where people wouldn’t be so inconsiderate anymore, I have experienced this kind of ridicule before due to the way I dress, and still do every couple of days. Learning to ignore people’s passing remarks has come naturally to me over the years, yet it is still upsetting to see other individuals like me being subject to the same things both online, and offline.
“Express yourself in any way that you see fit; write, draw, sing, dance, accessorize…”
The world is a beautifully vast place, brimming with new possibilities and new things to discover every single day. If we decide to shut things out just because they’re different from what we usually see, how will we ever genuinely learn to take in the world around us? Express yourself in any way that you see fit; write, draw, sing, dance, accessorize… We should not discourage or humiliate people who stand out, and we should learn to accept everybody as they are.
