Throughout majority of my high school life, I always questioned why things operated the way they did. Being forced to go to a place, or my parents could possibly go to jail. To be honest it sort of felt like a indoctrination. Going there I noticed everything was controlled and different social groups where created based on different peoples personalities. The irony of it all is that from a young age school seemed to indorse individuality, yet hypocritical policies such as school uniforms still took place later in the years.
I questioned why there was so much conformity;why was everyone so worried about fitting in? While I can't be the voice for every-ones' reasoning behind peer pressure. I can give my own reason for occasionally feelings of peer pressure. The first 2 years of high school felt very much like a fight for my individuality. I'd find multiple ways to make myself feel as if I was different; for instance making modifications to my uniform. I also would follow subculture Stereotypes, although at the time I didn't realize it was simple was pressure: The pressure to pull away from what I considered social emptiness.
This was a phase thankfully, and thankfully I slowly I began to realize; I was essentially doing what other students where doing, but strangely for the opposite reasoning(to get away from conformism).
I'd say its a great learning experience, and simply put. The best way to strive for individuality is not striving for individuality. When you force yourself to be different, weather it be following a subculture (beyond your own personal beliefs), or not liking a ideology without doing your own research. You'll definitely fall into the ignorance of conformism.
After coming to these conclusions, I decided to become more social; experiencing new things so I could have a opinion, rather than stagnate in ignorance. I've learned a lot in regards to life, but most importantly I learned a lot about myself. I can