Defining Individuality

Being one’s self is very important in society today. Trying to be one’s self can be taxing though. Trying to keep up with trying to remain one’s self, to try and keep up one’s own individuality, can be physically and mentally tiring on anyone. This essay is going to work to define individuality as a chore that most people try their best to accomplish every day. The most widely accepted definition of the word individuality is its dictionary definition which is “the quality of a particular person or thing that distinguishes them from others of the same kind, especially when strongly marked”. This would be present in everyday life and in all mundane things. An example of this would be if everyone in a school were to be forced to wear
a uniform and someone decided to put a twist on the outfit, such as a pin or other type of accessory. The reason that this is an example of the denotation of the word individuality is because these people are being made to wear the same thing while people would be willing to rebel and start to wear things that show them as an individual and separates them from everyone else. Another example would be a one in 100 situation. There are 100 people in a building all of them are the same except there is something special about each one. Now, whether that thing be one of them likes blue and decided to wear blue, or one of them really loves music and everything they wear has to do with music in some way, it still shows each and every one of them have the quality of individuality. Another way people see individuality is as a way a certain person feels about them self. This would mean how one person thinks about them self, compared to other people. Trying to think of yourself as different makes you act differently than you would if you were to think a different way. What this means is that if someone thinks, “Hey, I’m going to be different today,” rather than thinking, “I’m just going to be under the radar,” that person is more than likely to go out and try to be an individual. That person could go out and do something they have never done before and just be weird or just try and be a different them. This would be something akin to taking a day off of work and going out to use a talent to make money, or not doing something the same way that they normally do, or that everyone else does. Another way to see this would be seeing one person and they are a complete mess, they are tore up from the floor up, but they think that they look good. Therefore, according to them, they look and feel good with what they are wearing. To one person that would mean they are not well put together or just made the wrong outfit choice, but to the person wearing that outfit they feel as though they are an individual with their fashion statement and that it is just not to other people’s likings. The least popular way to define the word individuality is as a chore.
A chore that people have to keep doing in order to maintain appearances. It is something meant to keep people busy with their lives. Individuality is something meant to keep a wall between people. Trying to remain one’s “true” self could lead to a lot more than the desired result. People see individuality as something to escape to. People are told to be themselves, but when they try they are told, “no not like that,” or something akin to that. Individuality is a chore because people have to find the perfect balance of conformity and complacency. If they do not they are seen as weird and are to be avoided. An example of this would be someone who is told, by their parents, to be their true self, but once the parent finds out the child wants to be an artist instead of an engineer the child is told, “No that is not what you want to do”. This is a chore because now the child would have to find the perfect balance or just decide which one to be, a happy disappointment or a sad accomplishment to his parents. Another way to look at this is by looking at anyone in the world. People all look different, but have to decide whether to be themselves or to be complacent and blend into the background. They have to decide whether to bring out their instrument and play it in the subway, show off that song that they wrote, or just show how goofy they really can be. But, with the way society says you can be yourself, just not in that way, people are trying to only give a little
bit. Individuality can be seen in multiple different ways. It can be seen as just adding something new to what is given, such as how one dresses. It can be seen as just thinking differently about yourself, such as thinking in a different way or thinking differently about themselves. It can also be seen as a chore people have to keep up with, a chore to find the perfect balance or to be seen as extremely weird or to be seen as boring and unimaginative. When people do finally find that perfect balance they only keep that. They never push the balance to either side. The perfect sight of individuality and complacency. There are these different ways of defining the word individuality because of people. People decide for the general public, which would be the denotation, or dictionary definition. Then, there is just how people feel about the word, which would be the connotation, which just adds definitions, such as those presented. But, the major question that no one asks at the end of the day is, if people have found this special balance of individuality and complacency, then what is everyone’s true self that they are not showing?