The Pleasures of Being an Anti-Conformist

As soon as our brains can understand a great deal more than a dull episode of the Teletubbies, we are taught about behaviour, attitudes and the way that we should be. Naughtiness is discouraged if displayed in the slightest manner; an eagerness to be polite is instilled at the earliest opportunity; and we gradually realize the presence of the so-called 'rules' that bind us throughout society and beyond.

Without rules, what would our childhoods be like - a wild mess in which we race around crazily and Hungry Hippos are constantly within our reach? Stability is the foundation that we rely on during those early years of our lives, yet we can so easily forget about it when we seemingly morph into teenagers - and our first couple of years dedicated to exploring are washed away like I gulp down a glass of Diet Coke. Adolescence is the perfect time in which we are taught vital lessons and develop a sense of who we are beyond the hiked-up school skirts, playful Facebook pictures and layers of make-up as thick as a Subway sandwich.

Among those lessons is why we should take pride in being ourselves - sans putting on an act as extravagant as a Broadway show whilst in the company of our friends, for the sake of 'fitting in'. As you're about to find out, standing up to stereotypes and speaking up for those anti-conformists out there - who, at times, seem to be in such short supply that I wonder whether they are hiding in the town library - is indeed not a horrendous curse that it is often portrayed to be. What justifies referring to the right to express yourself as a big, horrible curse for which we ought to hang our heads in shame? Unless you have a scary fascination with full moons and a fetish for howling at the starlit sky at night, that is.

Having explored the subject in the past, I've earnt the right to be known as a Know-It-All when it comes to conformism, which I witness and fight against on a daily basis when surrounded by conformists, whose short-sighted views are spread to other people like a contagious cold (from which I'm currently suffering - and am cursing the name of whoever infected me). If people are brought up in an environment in which self-confidence is in shorter supply than their 5-a-day, what chance do they have when faced with hard-going conformists, who are incapable of keeping their (unoriginal) opinions to themselves? Some people are weaker than others, whereas a certain group - of which I'm a proud member - is as hard as steel, possessing the strength to ward off any potential attacks from the opposing side.

Life is guaranteed to contain its battles, which we are sometimes given the freedom to either join or avoid, yet conformism is another story; your only options are to either become part of the conformists for the sake of an easier ride, or fight forcibly for the sake of keeping your independence intact.

Although I wouldn't call myself a hard-as-nails fighter, so far I've done a pretty good job at remaining as independent as ever since immersing myself in the greatest environment where conformism strives: school. Attacked for making decisions without the authorisation of fellow pupils, I've faced - and, to an extent, continue to do so - hassle from people whose limited supply of brain cells stands in their way of leaving me alone.

This week actually started off as a living nightmare that clawed at my heart like a cat pierces their sharp-as-knives claws through skin because one pupil - who could not accept me for simply being myself - was fronting a vicious hate campaign against the only person who had ever stood up to her in her entire life. I, a self-declared anti-conformist (a title of which would go down splendidly if I ever created a Twitter profile), was on the receiving end of constant abuse, fear and stomach-knotting dread.

But, at any moment, did it ever cross my mind that conforming would be the simplest route out of those problems? So many pupils at my school who, when separated from their It-crowd, possess the loveliest and most unique personalities feel the need to 'adopt a different persona' - as my so-called 'buddy' declared during my first week or so - in order to lead an easier life in the playground. However, aren't the lines getting blurred if pupils wrongly assume that school is all about popularity, when the real purpose of their attendance is to gain an education? My views might have placed me further apart from my peers who, as I decided to go back a year due to conflicting examination boards, are a year younger than me, yet I don't care. At all, if you wish for extreme empathis.

Had the same things been happening towards another person, perhaps the answer would be poles apart from mine, yet that steely determination was offered the perfect excuse to come out in full force: no way. Despite my maybe-average-or-slightly-petite stature, inside of me is home to a lion whose roar commands respect and prowess is on constant speed-dial, the source of the self-belief that keeps my spirit alive if ever experiencing moments of deep struggle.

On the possibility that somebody threatens to throw my self-belief into jeopardy, they will have to answer to an angered lion's roar which will send shivers of ice-cold fear down their spine, the coolness an eternal reminder of what they shouldn't do: messing with me. My heartbeat quickens as I hope that the person responsible for my troubling times at school has learnt her lesson, or at least will let me be from now on. Let me be the person that I admire, respect and cherish. Let me be a girl who can walk into school without stopping dead in her tracks if caught unaware by a menace as vile as a poisonous snake. And, most important of all, let me be the one who declares the faults in conformism, and does not deserve to be vilified for opening my mouth.

That being said, there is much more to anti-conformism than the backlash you could - or maybe not, if luck has truly given its blessing - get from people who have over-dosed on ignorance. Independence is a gift that is highly treasured at any point in our lives, let alone adolescence, when we are suddenly offered bucket loads of supply. And why should we lose out on independence if dictated as to how we ought to use it by other people, who know nothing different from a game of 'follow the leader'?

Being able to make my decisions (even if I can't necessarily decide and rely on the influence of others at times) is a gift that I cherish more highly than the acceptance of a popular crowd at school, whose attitudes oppose the morals that were set out in my first few years of life, and are utterly priceless. Staying true to myself might cost me a bench on the most-admired crowd's table at lunchtime, yet popularity doesn't last forever; your morals do. And what price can you place upon a life-long supply of independent thinking?

Despite tough times that could have pushed me towards the dark side (with or without the guaranteed of gooey chocolate chip cookies), I've enjoyed being an anti-conformist and feel at home with my identity. There is nothing easier than being myself, especially as I cannot foresee a future career as an Oscar-winning actress (though the money part is a possibility!). I couldn't bring myself to go along with the crowd because it just isn't in my nature to do so. End of.

However, if the crowd included clever and kind-natured people, perhaps I would brush up on my Maths skills and wash off the angry over missing out on an A/W 11 Prada handbag... On the opposite end of the scale, would I bother hiking up my skirt, piling on the foundation and go from determined to ditzy for the crowds at school? Don't even think about it!