My Passion For Nonconformity

The early 1960’s to mid 1970s was the start of the counterculture of youth culture. During the 1960’s, there were revolutions including a sexual revolution, a cultural/ racial revolution, a rights revolution, and student revolutions. In addition to revolutions, there also a focus on the transition to adulthood, popularity, consumption, anxiety, and the media. However the movie, American Graffiti, which was set in the 1962 (1960s)–before the peak of 1960’s counterculture–and released in 1973 (1970’s) displays an environment more focused on the anxiety of transitioning to adulthood, dating, and consumerism--music and cars. American Graffiti compared to the set and release dates share similarities with the counterculture, but are depicted in

Kevin Davis’ essay Does Coming to College Mean Becoming Someone New? uses his personal story as well as research to highlight the changes new college students must make in order to grow into successful students. Davis explains that students must choose to grow in order for their college careers to be truly successful. Davis’ use of kairos as well as logical, ethical and emotional appeals organizes his essay into an effective one. The writer structures his essay in an exceptional way that leads the reader to analyze his uses of kairos, logos, ethos, and pathos.

I think I speak for many people when I say high school is a critical point in one’s life. Coming into high school, things seemed to be tightly-knitted between my peers and I; those of us who had just

Ralph Waldo Emerson, a leader of the Transcendentalist movement in the nineteenth century, once expresses his opinion on nonconformity when he wrote, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” His words express what many people have aspired to be. These words from Ralph Waldo Emerson highlight the idea of nonconformity which is one of the main pillars of the . Humans, having naturally social instincts, find it challenging to risk going against the crowd for fear of isolation, so Transcendental ideas can be difficult to execute amid the pressures of society. Ideas from this movement, particularly nonconformity, are some of the main themes in Dead Poets Society directed by Peter Weir. While Neil’s character in Dead Poets Society initially displays characteristics of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Transcendentalist ideas from “Self-Reliance,” he fails to continue his Transcendental endeavors proving that while Transcendentalism is possible, society ultimately causes individuals to conform.

An aggregate of the populace envisions one sole thing: to be distinguishable. Being an idiosyncratic is an alleviation of the “misfit curse”. 37% of teenagers classify themselves in this “misfit” category; they have not properly discovered one’s self, thus, they have not properly adjusted themselves to a higher level of maturity. To figure out one’s passion is difficult to apprehend; it accentuates, and then releases itself into a higher form. This is presented in Leila Sales’ exuberant novel, This Song Will Save Your Life. The main character, Elise Dembowski, is familiar with being a misfit. Her life suddenly has no meaning after another fictitious friendship attempt. For that

The peaceful life of the English society of the 1960s was struck by the clashes between the Mods and Rockers. Both Mods and Rockers were called “gangs”, which is a “structure sharing the same ideas, attachments and solidarity” [7]. Every gang usually has its own “interests, activities, membership, and status” [7]. Usually such groups appear spontaneously. Both gangs - Mods and Rockers - “represented opposite tastes with regard to a number of social conventions such as clothing, grooming, music, and so on” [7]. For example, the Mods (modernists) preferred to wear suits and pointed shoes, listen to Jazz and Rhythm & Blues style of music and ride scooters. In their

branch of my family… I think most people feel an intense need to belong, a sense of ‘tribe,’ or ‘my people.’ Dressing the part signals to others that ‘I am this, not that,’” she told me. For Lambert, dressing so outside the norms of society was a way to “hide in plain sight and also be highly visible at the same time,” a way to have an identity that “insulated” her against bullies because she was with others who held her beliefs and looked like her. The sense of acceptance that Lambert found with the Goths was present in much of my other research — at heart, most people want to fit in.

Looking through the decades, you can see the evolution of what is cool through phases and trends that society goes through. From the phases of sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll to today’s hipsters, striving “be cool” stems from fitting in with specific values in society. Over the decades, growing up has become more confusing; making it harder for teenagers and young adults to find a sense of self. Pop culture continues to parallel the values of society as they both continue to change in content. Self and social acceptance has resided as goal of society therefore, we use pop culture as a tool to reflect today’s societal values and express individualism.

One day I was sitting on the couch with my friend acacia, and as always, she was complaining about how her Instagram photos weren’t getting enough likes. I tried to help ease her distraught thoughts about her social media woes by looking up trending hashtags to get her picture the attention she was looking for. In one of the top spots was the word “hipster”. The first thing I thought of was a twenty- something year old, wearing way too tight American Apparel jeans and lens-less, glasses, complaining about how some recently unknown band is so mainstream or how their local coffee shop doesn’t know what at “flat-white” is. Everyone has that one friend who says everything is “too mainstream”, and Acacia was that friend. I brought up my suggestion and she got oddly offended, saying: “I am not a hipster” with pure disgust. I didn’t understand why she was so put-off; she fit, what I thought, was a stereotypical hipster. Then I thought, what exactly is a hipster?

That doesn’t sound like a positive start to high school, and it wasn’t. After years of apathy, of ‘it doesn’t matter if I fail, nobody cares, it doesn’t matter,’ of aspiring to nothing, I was suddenly confronted with ‘it does matter.’ I faced real consequences for my decisions. Where before I been up to my neck in pure academic diffidence

Nobody in this world is perfect. We all have our flaws and also our talents, but because of the world we live in, our society has created the idea that everyone should stick to the “status quo.” To most teenagers, you must act, dress, and look a certain way to meet society’s criteria. The expectations to fit in can be extremely hard, and sometimes impossible for some people to meet. As we leap into the world of literature, we come across stories such as “Metamorphosis,” by Franz Kafka, or “Revenge of the Geeks,” by Alexandra Robbins

In high school, I might have been known as the “weird girl,” but today, to many outside of it, I am known as the “successful girl.” High school wasn’t my thing, the whole stereotyped aspects of it. If you were known as anyone you were on an athletic team, if you took honors and accelerated classes you were known as a nerd, and answering questions in class gets you pinned as the teacher’s pet in high school. I myself didn’t like it because not only are cliques and charming looks not my thing, but because it didn’t mesh with the lifestyle I am proud to live as a part of the agriculture industry. Back in high school, I wasn’t just known as weird, but as an outsider as I was involved in 4-H and FFA, organizations for youth in agriculture, and did things such as giving up spring break to attend a livestock show or my senior prom to compete in a meat judging contest, two very important events, maybe not to others, but to me.

The subcultures “Beatniks” and “Hipsters” have proven to media and society that they have an urge for individualism. This is not something that has gone unnoticed by anyone, especially in the 1950’s with the beatniks. As a rise in each of their cultures, they have both experienced harsh criticism, attacking their style and how they approach life. There are many different views on how beatniks and hipsters lived/live their lives. Today, it is easy to tell the differences and similarities between beatniks and hipsters, because there are many of them.

That year, I won the most awards at my graduation, including the Rotary Club Award. Not to mention, I was signed up for all honors courses next year. I had seen what a lack of education had done to my father. I became determined, adamant, to thrive and to, one day, go to college. But I often questioned whether or not that would be possible given our socioeconomic situation. Thus, I endeavored to overcome and perhaps receive a scholarship, and now, in eleventh grade, I’m an I.B. Diploma Candidate. And I may not know what career I want to pursue, but true passion takes time. In many ways, I’m still that little girl, only stronger and engrossed in the world of adolescence rather than of

In my experiences at LVCP I have learned about careers that I may be interested in pursuing. By taking different classes, doing projects, and speaking to my peers I learned about careers I am interested in. Some of my interests as a student include writing, music, public work, history, and helping others for the ‘greater good’. This year I have given a lot more thought to, “after high school” and the careers I would like to study in college. I find this year I am more socially comfortable in school as a sophomore. I have found a great group of friends who push me everyday to be a great student. Last year I learned how to manage the workload of several projects, and assignments. I am still organized, but this year academically is more challenging than any year before.