Counter Conforming

Barely Broken yet Shattered to Pieces: The Power of Conformity Today

In the beginning God made the heavens and the Earth, people were unashamed, and then sin entered forming a broken world. Now we carry the weight of seeking perfection and longing to be something greater than ourselves. Individuals become conformed mobs, and people lose their true sense of self. I can’t even fathom what the entire world could be if we could all just put those burdens behind us. You are a miracle, just for the very fact that you are alive. “The probability that we as unique individuals came to be is equivalent to ‘the probability of two million people getting together each to play a game of dice with trillion-sided die. They each roll the dice, and they all come up with the exact same number - for example, 550, 343, 279, and 001. The odds that you exist at all are basically zero’ (Ali Binazer, 2011).” Think about that for a few moments, think about the wonder of life, think about the special reason you were put here on this earth—think.

In truth we all give into conformity in more ways than we could ever know; however, there is a difference between natural conformity and forced conformity. Natural referring to the fact we all use round tires, nobody uses a square tire just do be different. Square tires aren’t efficient for obvious reasons. Forced conformity, on the other hand, is a murder of the nightfall, lurking in to wipe away anything you thought you had. Take me for example, I did things just to have friends, and some of the things I didn’t even like, but I didn’t know how to be me. I didn’t think I was good enough just the way I was. You get so far gone you start to wonder “Whose life am I living?”  It breaks my heart to see others going through this washing machine of emotions. Eventually everything washes out, and your emotions get watered down, rung out, and jumbled up. When people seek that acceptance so greatly that they would change the beautiful person that they already are to appease others, I become troubled. It’s not worth it. There are lies out there that tell us “No matter what group you get in with you won’t be able to be 100% yourself because not everyone will accept you just how you are, you are going to need to conform to the group, one way or another.” (For more on that article click here.)My heart goes out to anybody that feels like that because that is a scary way to live. We can be unique yet stand together. However, along with this comes the power of acceptance not only of you— but of others. If you can be you, then why can’t others be themselves?

 I remember a poster pinned in my orchestra classroom in middle school that said, “An original is always worth more than a copy.”  This was referring to music yet people in the same respect.  If God wanted us to all be the same, he would have hit the copy button seven billion times. He didn’t though; he bestowed us each with matchless gifts, urging us “do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2 NIV). Inside each of us is a mind. Some minds have been razed by the world. Others have refused that influence, even though some days it may feel like a bulldozer is coming right for your mind to destroy all that you are. Conformity can take its toll; you may end up feeling powerless from the chains that bind your freedom. Feeling like you can’t do something because of others reactions, leaves you feeling defeated.

               Who’s the defeater? Conformity.  Telling us to hold everything on the inside and make everything look all right.  I wish I could see the world for a day when people aren’t afraid to be themselves and aren’t afraid of judgment. John F. Kennedy beautifully says, “Conformity is that jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth. “ I couldn’t agree with this more.  When we conform, we aren’t thinking; we aren’t being creative. I know it’s hard sometimes, but in the end, being you is so much less complicated. Now you may be thinking, well I am just not creative, but that’s not true. In the article “Access the Innovator Within,” Carlin Flora states “The first step to increasing your creativity quotient is believing you can. Even if no one has ever assigned the adjective "original" to anything you have ever done, you must acknowledge that you have inventive powers.” And perhaps that’s the hardest part of it all; you have to make the choice. The greatest thing about that though, is you can’t mess up being yourself. Even if sometimes you do fail at what you were planning, it’s not complete disarray; it’s a chance for you do get more creative.  Herman Melville once said, “It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” In reality it’s a complete fail to imposter, because you can never be just like another person no matter how hard you try. I can’t speak for all people, but I know I love to see people showing their true passions through their lives, it’s so encouraging. In that child-like excitement where in your eyes the world is nice, sweet and fun. There is no danger your parents can’t save you from, and you see no problem with wearing your superhero cape and rain boots to the park. Why does all of that change? When does all the judgment begin? And yet the bigger question remains, when does all the judgment end? The answer lies solely inside of you and everyone else. The only embrace is not just of you, but others individuality as well.

If we could all embrace our quirks as wells as others, the world could be something quite vibrant. So don’t give into peer pressure, don’t just nod along like a hopeless bobble head on a bumpy road. Be that something stunning be that movie maniac, be that piano prodigy, be that person you were made to be. Be every color you love and make your special rainbow something that can’t fade behind the clouds of judgment.