We must be different but at the same time we can’t really truly be different.

We must aim to be different, not for the sake of being different, but because it forces us to evaluate every decision we make, it gives us the more difficult perspective, the one that’s not as obvious or as easy to take (compared to the socially approved one). However, we cannot really be different in all situations, social norms exist because we all experience similar cycles in life. We are all born, grow up, live and then die. We all see that cycle happening to others around us and what’s standard for us is a form of dealing with that cycle. Even if we are different in many ways, we still must make compromises even for the sake of  those around us, to make it easier for them or to spare them. But as long as we consciously choose to do it I believe it builds our character. The foundation is still strong and we stand firm, because we know where we are and why.

Strive to be different, consciously choose every step you take and don’t do it lightly as it is one of the few things you truly own in life – the decision and the perspective. But it is important to accept when the overall picture doesn’t look much more different than many others around you, because we all live in the same set up, with similar conditions and through the same overall cycles. It’s in the little details, in the everyday decisions, in the interactions with others, the acts of kindness and the compromises – do them consciously and own them.

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