by Nick Glende | Mar 28, 2012 | Opinion
What is your biggest fear? Personally, mine is spiders and bees. They scare the crap out of me. I would fight a bear in a fist fight in a closed off area before I willingly set foot in the same state as a beehive. Some people have more more rational fears, such as heights or death. Others may have strange fears like clowns or ghosts. Along with our personalities, our fears are unique and can shape how we live our lives. But I bet you that 99 percent of us all share the same fear: Nonconformity. Nonco-what? It means lack of, failure or refusal to conform (agree) as with established customs, attitudes or ideas. Being the odd man out. As a kid, we’re all taught to be a proud individual and to be ourselves, to avoid peer pressure and whatnot. What I realize is that, as adults, those same people who tell us to stand up for ourselves also pressure us to conform to what they or their group believe. If you grew up with a specific religious background, why do you get such hateful messages if you start thinking outside of that religion? You’re taught all through school and by your parents to think for yourself, but when you finally do, you feel the disappointment of others. That’s probably what we fear the most and why peer pressure is dangerously real. People are pressured into doing something stupid like drugs or stunts all the time but not because of their personal interest in the subject. They do it because they don’t want to disappoint their friends. I feel we may...
