Different Is The New Normal

I feel like calling a person “different” is almost insulting. The correct term I believe for this word would have to be unique. To be “different” is doing things others would deem as strange or extraordinary. At least that’s my interpretation of the word. For instance if you’re a jock and you see kids that sit around playing card games in the lunch room you would think they’re weird, but this can also be flipped around because when you ask those kids about jocks they may think they are different as well because they don’t have the same hobby as them. I feel like people with the most power and popularity are considered the “normal” people because everyone likes them more, but what is normal? It all depends on the person. Being considered normal can be determined by the majority. If a lot of people are doing one thing then it may seem normal to do that. In my high school people associated themselves in different specific group, but I wasn’t like that. In high school I felt like I was different, but at the same time I was still well liked. I was involved in so many extracurricular activities that people couldn’t label me as a jock, nerd or music and speech dork. I feel like standing out can be very difficult. In a society that is so focused on the media and how the media is constantly advertising how everyone should be it’s tough to go against the majority because nobody wants to stand out like a sore thumb. In my opinion the world needs more “different” individuals because normal is boring.

A Crisis of Identity

One issue that I thought I could relate to was Sami’s story and how he was having an identity crisis when he had to fight in a war that needed him to kill his own people. He also at one point said he was the farthest thing from being an Arab. I feel like this happens to a lot of the younger generation nowadays. I even notice it in my family. I am the oldest and I believe I have the strongest grasp of our family’s traditions because my parents brought me up with tradition and my younger sister also got a bit of it and it really shows when we are speaking our native language which is Laotian. I have pretty good understanding of the language and as it progresses from myself to my younger sister and my youngest sister the level of understanding and speaking the language decreases. This also goes for when we show signs of respect. In most Asian cultures it is very disrespectful to speak to someone that is your elder and look them directly in the eye. I believe because of the society that my sisters and I were brought up in it is hard to not look at people in the eyes because it’s a sign of respect to look at people in the eye when it comes to the American culture. This creates and clash between culture and society and because our parents won’t judge us nearly as hard it becomes easier to turn around on our traditions. This happens to many children in this day and age because society has such a strong influence on all of us and all can really be done is to have parents keep reinforcing their kids with their traditions and culture like my parents do to my sister and I.