Self Acceptance Essay

Self Acceptance

A large part of education and the process of school is about learning to live with majority rule. We must fit within a framework of school rules and behavior expectations. By conforming to this, while following the social norms of our peers, we learn how to cope with society. By following rules and orders, we comply with the guidelines that were established by society in the past by majority rule. By dressing and speaking like our peers, we fit in and are viewed as acceptable individuals. But a large part of inner peace and happiness is ultimately following our inner voice and conscience, even if that leads us against the rules that were established by the majority.

    At first, this seems contrary to successful living. In middle school, I learned to fit in. At the start of the sixth grade, I realized everyone was wearing popular brands, such as Hollister and Abercrombie. When I finally convinced my dad to take me to get some new clothes, I started to look more like the other kids. There was nothing really special about those clothes, but it was what most people were wearing. I used to think that if I wore those clothes I would be able to fit in with my group, but ultimately that small voice, that voice of happiness, of being yourself, is never contented with being copasetic on the surface, simply blending into the majority. We must each follow our own drum, so to speak.

Even if you tried to conform to the majority, what does that really mean? After all, the majority changes depending on where you go. For instance, I went to a Catholic School with all boys where nobody was afraid to be themselves. There weren’t any girls to impress so nobody was afraid to speak out and get rowdy from time to time. When I moved to Churchill, many of the guys were calmer because everyone is worried about impressing the ladies. Since the “majority” that we care about is localized and can change depending on where we go to school and live, it becomes difficult constantly trying to be a shapeshifter in order to fit in. Better to just be ourselves and risk having few friends than to constantly adjust our personalities and behavior to maximize our adherence to the majority rule.

When I was younger, my dad signed me up to play baseball. My Grandpa really wanted me to play because he was a pitcher in the MLB back in his day, and my dad always thought I would be a natural at it. When I played my first game, I fell asleep in the outfield a few times. I still went to practice every week because I thought it would make them happy. The sport I really liked was basketball, but because neither of them played it, I continued