The people you hang out with, your family, what you listen to and what you watch on television all affect the person you become. My Biology teacher once told me “Everyone is born a scientist. You do experiments to figure out what is right or wrong, and you learn from them. ” When you are growing up you teach yourself things like how to talk and walk. You never get It right the first time, It always takes a practice and a few tries to finally get it right.
But once you master the skill you move on to learn something new. Failure, I believe, is a very important way for people to figure out who they really are. Growing up, going through elementary, middle and high school you encounter many types of people and different situations. This is where I think most of the battle to be you takes place. That first day of school when you walk Into a classroom full of other students, I always think the first thing they are going to do Is Judge me, at least that Is the first thing I do when I see or meet new people.
Although people say It’s wrong to edge someone, we all do it and as humans we make mistakes. You want to make a good first impression so you experiment with clothes, hairstyles and anything else to see what makes your peers want to be your friend. Once you find the style that fits you, you generally start to hang out with those kids that have the same style and attitude. This Is when you begin to figure out how you act around deferent people and how you treat others.
Those people you hang out with greatly affect the things you say, what you watch and listen to and sometimes the way you treat others. There re many groups of people in school: the socks, the nerds, the gothic, the religious people, etc. If you take the chance and become a part of one of these cliques, the challenge of finding who you are is tested. You are put in situations where saying or doing something could make you or break you in that clique. Weather you go through with these challenges or not tell the people around you the type of person you really are.
Let’s say everyone In your clique was making fun of the new girl because she didn’t have very many friends and she was a little weird: If you go along tit those people and make fun of her it shows you are not a very nice person, but if you go against what they are doing in the end you may lose those friends but you gain a whole new group of ones that appreciate you. This is a battle that some people are faced with when trying to become themselves. You aren’t going to stick with the same people throughout your entire life, and situations like this are the ones that you will be faced with more than once In your lifetime.
Hanging out with different groups of people is like trying on a pair of jeans. You keep trying different pairs until you find the one that you are the most comfortable in, or in this situation, which group you are most comfortable with. Even today, as a college student, I still struggle to find the group of friends I am most comfortable with. This is a lifelong battle because you make new friends through time. And you lose friends along the sometimes make the wrong choice as well. Instead of this being a regret you have in life, it is a learning experience.
What does it mean to be yourself? I believe to be ourselves it means that you are comfortable in your own skin and you do not care what other people think about you. You are a leader and make your own decisions instead of being a follower and have people make decisions for you. I also believe that it means to be the person you are when nobody else is around. You don’t let what music says or what television states is the cool thing to do’ affect your life. Celebrities make it tough to not let the media effect the decisions you make.
When you see those people on the covers of magazines because they have an addiction, ids think if they do what these celebrities have, they will get that much attention as well. These celebrities also impact the way people dress. If they are wearing risky clothing, kids believe that is the style and will want to dress like that as well. I think the music you listen to also plays a factor in the person you are. If you listen too lot of rap and hip-hop you are more likely to use profanity while having a conversation with someone. But if you listen to classical music you act more calm and easy-going.
This isn’t always the case though. I listen too lot of rap but I also listen to country and Christian music and I do not use the language they do in rap songs. Depending on where you are in the Journey of becoming yourself, I believe you sometimes have the ability to block out these pressures and not let them affect you. When you are put in situations, you are put to the test of figuring if you are actually being you. This journey is one that starts the day you are born, and ends the day you die. You learn from the people around you, music, television and most of all yourself.