Was there ever a time you did something differently than what was expected of you? Describe the event. How did others take it? How did you feel about yourself?
Frequently. Can I name anything specific, though? Hmmm. There was that time I quit a really well-paying job because it was sucking the life out of me and even though I had, up until the minute I quit, wanted a long-term career with them, I walked out that day. There was that time I quit a different job, in order to open a yarn store with two friends. But were those things different than what was expected of me? Because nobody was telling me to do a thing and I did a different thing, that was just me living my life.
Is there something unconventional you always wished you could do?
Be a ballerina space pirate princess….? Again, I’m just out here living my life. It might be unconventional for some – living in a deeply rural area, owning my own craft business – but for me it’s perfectly normal. Ultimately, I would be hard pressed to think of something I’ve wanted to do, conventional or unconventional, that I haven’t either already done, or started doing.
Was there ever a time you regretted taking the unconventional route?
More like times I regretted being conventional. The times I tried to be the same as everyone around me, the times I tried to follow the timeline that society said I should (go to college; get a job; get married)… those are the times I’ve been the least happy in my life. The times when I wasn’t following my own heart are the times I felt least like my true self.
Have you ever felt stuck in a “box” of conformity? Did you feel safe? Comfortable?
Yes, I have felt stuck, and no, I did not feel safe. I felt constrained and imprisoned.
Do you believe uniqueness is a downfall, or a superpower?
Absolutely a superpower. Why would I want to be like everyone else? I wasn’t like everyone else even when I was in grade and middle school and wanted to be “the same” so I could blend in. By high school I realized being “the same” was a crock of shit and I’ve pretty much been that way since then.
I wanted to be conventional but all my choices led me toward individuality. I was, however, a damned good chameleon when it suited my purposes, which the ritually conventional and the ritually unconventional someone’s criticized me for.
there is a dirty DIRTY, secret (you’d be told), about all this….
MANY MANY folks actually ARE unconventional but unless they do something, preferably BAD to really inescapably draw attention to themselves they are ignored/hidden/quashed by those who have bought the package of 2.3 kids and a mortgage/overtime… and I do not mean in any organized conspiracy way.
I always come back to the Japanese proverb that says ‘the nail that sticks up will be driven down!’.
Also the other side of this is many if not most of those who DO go for the 2.3 kids etc are DOING so to AVOID having to take chances, have the same ready-made excuses as “everyone” and not have to think much.
LOL now in most places the hating would start but you lot I think will understand.