Every time a new trend comes about, we always want to distance ourselves from it. 

The 90’s arrived, then came the 00’s, and the 10’s are on their way out. Whether it was bell bottoms, low rise, or skinny jeans, every era has a way of defining itself. And sometimes, we lose ourselves to shunning these ideals.

The cycle is the exact same every time. A new trend is born. It becomes a stereotype. The public doesn’t want to be put into a box, so they put themselves in an even bigger box. 

We have the tendency to take something and create the anti. The reciprocal. But the more we try to differentiate ourselves this way, the more alike we become. Take pop music, for example. There’s a reason everybody hates it. At one point we felt the exact opposite. 

Even with these seemingly normal fads, there come behaviors and interests that aren’t as widely accepted. Many, being deemed strange, are belittled and shut down. While things like anime and ASMR are rejected, others are celebrated. 

Everybody remembers Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. Great novel with a phenomenal message, but why is a girl who wears floor length dresses and carries around a sunflower tote bag the epitome of different? Why is she treated like an outsider? How has conformity reached such a standard? She should have been celebrated from the very beginning. Our differences are what makes us individuals and not just people. 

Individuality can be defined as the quality or character of a particular person or thing that distinguishes them from others of the same kind. Nowadays, there’s absolutely none of that. Whether it’s trying to deviate from the norm or conforming to the norm, we all end up in the same boat. Why should there be a norm in the first place? Individuals should be allowed to just be. 

I have more respect for trend setters rather than trend followers, because they aren’t trying to stray away from something or be something that everyone isn’t. They’re being themselves, and that’s enough and more.