The Outsider

The Outsider

We, as a population, are a rather cliquey group of people. Being part of the group is essential to our social and, in some cases, economical survival. This leaves little room for someone to experiment and to be truly themselves, without fear of being criticized. However, there are a few brave souls whom do not care what others may say to them. These are typically the outsiders in my limited opinion of the concept.

Although, being an outsider is not that terrible. After all you must be one to be truly great; you must break from the group. A good example of this is in “The Lesson” when the one girl that’s always dressed up nicely has no problem walking through the door of the toy store and all of the others hang back and cannot. She broke from the group and was rewarded for it by being able to go inside even if she was treated poorly by the other children. However, sometimes you fall when you strive and those are the bad times if you broke from the “group-think” mentality.

Personally, it has happened to me as I am sure it has to everyone. When I was a kid I was an “A-Typical” city kid. You know what I mean; always playing some sport, skipping school, and just having fun. However, I had this terrible secret as a kid; I loved to read anything and everything. Now that’s not something you really say because some of the kids really could not read. So it was unpopular to say the least. The funny thing about most of that above is that it really is not true at all anymore. I do not believe a word of what I just wrote because I figured I am who I am; and I have never wanted to change since.

The reasoning behind this you ask? Well it was simple that I just stopped caring and was myself. It turns out that people liked me better that way since it was the real me. An example, my buddy “e mills” found out I was smart because I did not try to hide it anymore and he came to me for help. What people really care about is who you are on the inside. My friend did not care that I was smart he liked it because then I could help him out. So if I a nerdy, white, jock can tutor a jet black gangster from the north side and play ball with him, well then I doubt anyone can top that.

The funny thing