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.