The Importance Of Staying Genuinely Me

Living in a world that consists of various races, religions, gender and language is to me very amazing and inspiring. In terms of skin colour, it is so diverse : white, yellow, black, olive, olive-black, black-white, yelloe and white and at the same time all can cross each other to create another brand new colour-combo. We have straight guys, straight women, lesbians, gays, homosexuals, metrosexuals, cross dressers (straight), cross dressers (gay).. the list is endless. Everyone has a specific niche in which they live and thrive in. The so-called niches are ever expanding to create newer ones. Categories are running out, not being able to label those groups that are existing and those that are still in formation.

The beauty is in diversity. That is what makes the world a more colourful place to be in. So what is the thing about having to conform to a certain in order to survive the cruelty of cliques? Isn't it beautiful to be different, have deffering opinions, to be more colourful, to not stick to the herd?

In this Asian reality that I live in, I find that the "we" word is taking too much of our everyday life: which includes decisions that need to be made, opinions, actions... The huge influence of Confucius's thinking on our upbringing and mindset is making sure that the collective "yes" and that "yes" of the elders are ever important and inquestionable. What will then happen to us (as I am writing here, I notice that I too, write in a collective-voice way) and do we not have a choice to for once NOT say "yes" as a part of a majority or "yes" to an elderly's wishes without regard to our own personal point of view?

For a change, isn't it better to at least say a stern "no" at a decision done by the Herd or the Elders when it doesn't seem to be logical? And is it possible to live in harmony despite being at opposing sides with the Herd? In a Herd dominated part of the world, is it easy to live alone or with only a small non-majority group of lik-minded people?

The reason there is such a diversity in terms of gender classifications is that people are not afraid to speak up and defend their rights as a human being despite how different they are from the majority of "normal" people. As for me, no matter how different a person is, he/she CAN choose to be different and have the right to a niche of his/her own.

Is it also a sin to have different skin colour, speak in a different language, laugh at jokes that only particular people can understand? Is it also wrong to come from a diverse cultural background different from the alpha herd? Is the "togetherness" value too strong in our society that it makes us unacceptable to people who are not of the same wavelength as us?

Sometimes, everyone needs a breathing space and also freedom to be his/her own self, regardless of matter be it a space to be happy or to release, to able to interact with friends that he/she really want to, to say what is on his/her mind without any hindrance from other groups (majorities) and to express his/herself in a special way.

So friends, love your fellow human beings as much as you love yourselves despite how different they are. For those who have been hurt by the herd for being who you are, it's okay just love yourself too. It is okay to be an outcast sometimes. Being in the main herd or being on top of the popularities stakes is great as well as long as deep inside you, you know that this is you at your most genuine.

For the time being, it'll suffice that I keep being me.

Hmm. rambled quite a lot today...