Unique-ness

“Being yourself is being unique because there is only one of you, take it as a gift that is possessed only by you. Everyone has one, but they are all different.” –Anonymous. People are afraid to be themselves because society brings down those who are different. Kids are taught that it’s alright to be themselves as long as society accepts them, making them grow up afraid to be themselves. Ralph Waldo Emerson explains in his article Self Reliance that there are both positives and negatives in being yourself.

            There are positive factors in showing the world that you are unique and different. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men-that is genius” (Emerson). To believe in yourself and what you can do is something people are afraid of because they grow up thinking they are constantly being judged by others. Emerson believes that if you show society that you do not show concern to what they are saying, you are smart. Society will always be there to knock you down, but you can choose to stay down or get back up and keep being yourself.

            There are also negative components to showing who you actually are. I am extremely fond of a television show called Supernatural and watch it so frequently that I can quote lines, making others who do not understand judge and criticize me. People do not understand the show, yet they declare that it is not a good show to watch and that I am incoherent for watching it. I am called derogative names and reprehended quite often. Caring about what others think of you is how society gets people to hide the fact that they are not just like everyone else.

            Ralph Waldo Emerson also wrote about negative components to being unique. He states in Self Reliance, “Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members” (Emerson). He is basically stating that society sets rules that others are expected to follow, but then get judged for doing what they are taught. People are told that being themselves is the best thing in the world, but when you are someone that the society does not like they immediately shut you down with harsh comments. Emerson is essentially saying that believing your own thoughts rather than society’s is remarkable because it is rare.  

            There are both negatives and positives to being unique. A positive is not being afraid to show who you truly are. A negative is that society judges you for doing so. Society tells you that it is alright to be yourself and be unique, yet when you do not meet the requirements, they criticize you.

Works Cited

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. (1841) Self Reliance.

Crossfire Chapter 1

I guess I’ll start this off with my appearance. I’m an average 17 year old girl with long, wavy dark brown hair and bluish-green eyes. I have a few freckles across my cheeks, but they’re hardly noticeable. I’m about 5’6”… in heels anyway and I love dark colors. People find me intimidating. Probably because I speak my mind and I am not afraid to tell people what I really think. I am going through my final year of high school and my only thought? Well, thank the fucking Lord. I hate school and it’s not because I’m a bad student. I’m generally a good student with mostly B’s and the occasional A. No, the reason I hate school would be because you spend 8 hours of your life with people who don’t give two shits about you, the air conditioning doesn’t even cool you down, and the food tastes like cardboard. Then there are the teachers that pretend that they genuinely care and always ask how you are doing and why you didn’t do so well in one class, and they know that you’re smarter than this, blah blah blah. It’s bullshit. But I am not writing this to complain about school. I am writing this to tell you my story. So here it goes:

Just an average day of waiting in traffic for 20 minutes, rushing to class, and getting there right before the final bell rings signaling the start of class. I just get into the classroom when I bump into someone, knocking both of us onto our butts. I, of course, end up losing all of my books and everything scatters all over the floor.

“Oh, excuse me, I am so sorry!” I blink to clear my eyes and see a guy with longish brown hair and hazel eyes that were more green than brown staring back at me.

“Uh, okay?” Brilliant. I am just brilliant. Miss conversationalist, that’s me! Well the attractive male helps me to pick up my stuff when Mr. Wesley walks in. I hear him groan as he squeezes his fat ass into the tiny chair made for people with normal sized asses.

“Ahh, Z. This is why you should wake up earlier.” I roll my eyes as Mr. Hottie hands me my last book.

“As soon as you lose some weight, I’ll wake up earlier.” I mumble under my breath.

“What was that?” I look up at him with my brilliant smile.

“I said ‘whatever I can do to make your life easier, Mr. Wesley.” The man might be as fat as an obese hippo, but he had a face that reminded me of a rat. His beady little eyes glared down at me.

“That is enough of your mouth, young lady.” I took my seat in the middle of the classroom using every bit of self-control that I had not to roll my eyes again. I’m almost done. Only 123 days until graduation. Mr. Wesley dove right into the lesson, one that I didn’t pay attention to. I instead spent my time reading a wonderful story of adventure and heroes.

“Psst!” I looked up and saw that Mr. Hottie from earlier had taken the seat next to mine. He handed me a crumpled up piece of paper. I took it hesitantly, unsure of whether this was a trick or not. I eyed him suspiciously as I began to unravel the ball. ‘Sorry I got you in trouble’ it read. I looked up to meet his eyes. He looked genuinely sad.

“Miss Lancaster, I would appreciate it if you would listen to my lesson instead of oogling Mr. Davis.”

“I’d appreciate it if I didn’t have to see your fat ass.” I mumbled as I lowered myself into the desk. I hated it when everyone stared at me. I felt like a freak. It didn’t help that I was blushing as red as a tomato. As soon as the bell rang, I was out of that classroom and headed to my car for my free period when I run into another person.

“Hey Z, how’s it going? Got a new crush?”

“Go fuck yourself Derek.” I spat and stepped around him. If only it were that simple. He grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him. I did what any teenage girl would do in this situation. I grabbed his arm and pulled it behind his back, forcing him to the ground. I pressed the pointed part of my heel between his shoulder blades and bent real close. “Do not ever touch me like that again.” I pushed his arm a little harder, making him cry out in pain. “Apologize.”

“I’m sorry!” He cried. I pushed harder.

“Not good enough!” I spoke through clenched teeth.

“I’m sorry!! I’ll never touch you again!” I let him go and picked up the bag I dropped.

“Miss Lancaster, we do not tolerate bullying in this school.” I turned around to see Mr. Wesley holding up traffic.

“He grabbed me. Do I not have the right to protect myself?” I questioned, knowing where this was going to lead.

“To the Principal’s office.”

“But he-”

“No arguing!” He grabbed my arm and hauled me through the halls like a dog on a leash. He sat me where the secretary could see me and pushed his way into the Principal’s office, barely able to squeeze his body through the doorway. He walked out a few minutes later, eyeing me as he passed. I stuck my tongue out to his back like a preschooler.

“Z?” I looked up to see the face of Principal Cowling. She had a nice face, kind but stern. Her dark hair framed her face and her brown eyes stared at me with confusion. I sighed and hauled my bag onto my shoulder and made my way into her office. This was going to be a long year.