flint.44
02-17-2009, 08:33 PM
A friend once told me that normality cannot exist, that because of everyone's differing personalities, there could be no normal. I have given this some serious thought. I eventually came to the conclusion that normality could exist, and that individuality was, in a sense, a lie. People seem to drift to certain groups, cliques, stereotypes and such based on their interests. This lead me to believe that if these interests are ignored, then the natural self could prevail. If a person categorizes themselves, then they drift farther away from who they truly are. For the longest time, this is where I stood. I believed that deep down, everyone was the same. Thus, the existence of normality. Over time though, I realized some serious faults in this. As human beings, we classify one another. Be it negatively, or positively. It begins at a humans first experience in a social setting. Opinions and generalizations are made, one large group is naturally divided into many small groups. From there, interests are gathered over the years of constant contact. The person becomes more of what they have been. It is inevitable for a person to take on a personality, unless they have been living a completely sheltered life, away from all forms of contact. I found that, as much as I fought it, I was doing things to fit a certain persona. My interests shaped me in a sense. The natural self seems to come from exactly what I thought ruined it. If everyone ignored all personal beliefs and interests, then we would all be exactly the same. Without influence, there is nothing to base a personality off of. It is normal for all of this to happen. Thus, individuality comes from normality. I still do not classify myself, I am still learning a lot about this topic. I believe this is the closest I have come to fully understanding something, though there is no way I completely understand. These are just my thoughts. Does any one have other thoughts?