High school is supposed to be some of the greatest years of your life, yet it’s not; at least not for me originally. The high school I currently attend is completely different from my grammar school. My seventh grade class had about 15 kids who I had known since kindergarten; my eighth grade class (which for me was my first year of high school) was about 200 strangers, all girls. I didn’t speak much in class and was surrounded by people with whom I couldn’t connect. I felt intense pressure to fit in and follow all the fashion trends; something that’s not exactly easy for a tomboy like me. It took me a long time to realize that I didn’t have to change who I was and that I didn’t have to go with the flow. It is extremely important to be your own person, but this can prove to be extremely difficult for teenagers mainly due to peer pressure and the effects of the media. A decrease of individuality can lead to lack of confidence in not being able to stand up in one’s beliefs or conforming to what is expected instead of developing one’s own ideas and beliefs. Let's look at what it means to be an individual, what effects we face in today’s society, and how we maintain our individuality despite these effects.

Individuality, according to Webster’s dictionary, is the quality that makes one person or thing different from all others. That definition is so simple, but individuality is so much more than a definition. Individuality is thinking for yourself, developing your own ideas and beliefs. Individuality is being yourself. When you are an individual, you are independent. You are not conforming to the ideas and opinions of others, but instead you are thinking for yourself, deciding what is right and what is wrong. And as you are doing this self-introspection you might discover that you are quite different from everyone else. Different isn’t bad; different is good. In some cases, it's even beautiful.

Now, you might be thinking why should I be an individual; it seems like a lot of effort? Individuality does take a lot of effort and energy. It is so much easier just to go with the flow, to accept something without questioning it. Can you name for me any great person who followed the crowd, who didn’t think for himself or herself, who never questioned authority? It would be difficult to name someone, because all the things that we have, how far we have progressed, all exist, because someone decided to think for himself or herself, think in a new and different way. Henry Ford, for example, thought outside of the box and developed the assembly line which made the production of cars and everything else so much easier and efficient. The same applies for people like Walt Disney, Martin Luther King, Jr., Emily Dickinson, and so many more people. People who are themselves are the people who change the world. Being an individual also gives you confidence. Those who aren’t individuals, who follow the crowd, often don't have the amount of confidence people who think for themselves do. They are constantly relying on others to think for them; so when they do, for once, have an original idea, they are unable to express and develop it in fear it’s not in accordance to the social norm. Individuals, on the other hand, have a great amount of self-confidence because they are unafraid of what society has to say about them. Besides, being an individual is just more fun. Society is going to judge us regardless of whether we follow it or not. We might as well be individuals and have fun not caring what society has to say about us.

Understanding what it means to be an individual is important, because there are so many challenges to being our own person. For teenagers, individuality is being compromised by peer pressure and the media. When we're being peer pressured, we are being told that who we are and what we stand for is wrong and that we need to be something else in order to be right, to be cool, to fit in. Peer pressure is present in every aspect of a teenager's daily life, especially in the little things. It’s how everyone is expected to tie their shoes in a certain manner, or how they are supposed to have a specific type of ponytail, or that the only acceptable workout shorts are Nike shorts with and 40% of teenagers in America have iphones according to appleinsider.com It may not be spoken, but there is a constant pressure to go on about your daily school life in a certain manner, and these little things might not seem like much, but eventually they add up. These very subtle pressures become bigger and bigger until they completely consume us. Then when you do realize you have been peer pressured, you’ll have to dig even deeper to find where you are hiding underneath. You have to dig past the clothes you don’t like to wear, past the music you hate to listen to, past the beliefs that aren’t yours to finally find your fragile and vulnerable self.

How am I supposed to feel like an individual when I know your shoes are tied in exactly the same way, that your ponytail is the same I’m wearing, that I know you have Nike shorts under your skirt just like I do, and that the only difference between my iphone and yours is the ringer? The answer is I’m not being an individual. I have the same things or I’m doing the same things as everyone else, because it’s easier. We want to be accepted; and in an effort to be accepted, we sacrifice which is precious to us. We sacrifice ourselves.

Because of peer pressure human integrity is being compromised. When we are told by our peers that who we are is not good enough, that we have to change something about ourselves in order to be better, we are being denied the right to think for ourselves, denied the right to form our own ideas and beliefs. Not only are teenagers’ individualities being hindered by peer pressure, but their individuality is also being hindered by the media.

TV, the radio, magazines all target teenagers by forcing on them what clothes are in style, what music is hot, which celebrity to idolize. They form for teenagers preconceived notions about how each of us should live our lives. The media advocates wearing designer brands, listening to specific music, and watching the most popular TV shows. They are constantly feeding to teenagers who we should be and how we should go about being ourselves. Why be an individual when we can live the fast, glamorous life that is associated with the media? Teenagers are lacking in confidence and are insecure, so they pick up the magazine or turn on the TV to discover what everyone looks like in order to have more “confidence” about themselves. This confidence is a lie. It’s a confidence that ensures your unoriginality not your self confidence. Teenagers are so fearful to stand out that they look to celebrities to tell them how to fit in and be accepted.

63% of teenage girls according to NYC.gov think that image projected by the fashion industry of women is unrealistic yet 60% of girls compare themselves to models and 48% want to be just as thin. Teenage girls are told that physical beauty is everything. It’s in every magazine, every TV show, every movie. It is ingrained in our minds to believe that being tall and thin with flawless skin and shiny hair is what beautiful is. Boys need to be masculine. There is no room for soft, sensitive boys; they need to be strong, competent men capable of protecting their women. These predetermined beliefs which are pushed on teenagers limit our potential and don’t allow us to grow and decide for ourselves who we are.

The more and more a teenager is not himself or herself, whether it was caused by peer pressure or the influence of media, the less self-confidence and the more insecurity the teenager will have. In addition, teenagers will be less likely to form their own opinions and beliefs. This predicament, however, is not hopeless and can gradually be remedied.

Overcoming peer pressure and the media to maintain individuality is not easy. First off, it requires thinking, a lot of thinking. And then after you have done that thinking, then it needs to lead to action, important action. We need to think and decide personally what we believe right and wrong to be; we need to form our own opinions and beliefs. After you have thought things thoroughly, then you need to act on these decisions. It is not going to be easy; it is never easy doing the right thing. It is easier to follow others and have them tell us what is right and wrong, but you lose yourself in the process. So it is imperative to resist temptation to take the easy way. In case you were wondering thinking is good. It allows you to introspect, develop, and grow as a person. At this point, you may need some words of encouragement because people are cruel and will put you down every chance they get so take the advice of Emerson, a defender of individuality, to heart when he said, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” Never lose hope. Never let people tell you that different is wrong. Different is the reason why we are here today. Different is the reason we've had the discoveries and advances in our world. If we lived in a world where everyone was the same, think of how bland it would be. We as humans would have never advanced this far if someone hadn’t seen things in a different light and dared to be themselves.

High school has been going pretty great ever since I stopped trying to be something I’m not and embraced who I am. I don’t worry anymore about trying to fit in. and while everything is not completely perfect, I have made the most of things. I have a group of friends now who actually care about me and want me to be who I am. And even though I’m told some of my dreams are unrealistic or unconventional, you better believe that I’m going to continue to pursue them. And I hope you take the opportunity to do the same.