Culture vs Personality

 

 

Can you remember going to highschool?

What was that like for you?
Did you experience any pressure to conform?
 

When I went to highschool in Australia it was considered uncool to listen to Britney Spears music, Ipods were in fashion and many girls skipped meals.

I guess that to some degree, in highschool, the group can dictate what music an individual likes, what technology they will buy and even if someone will choose to eat enough food or not.

I think, from my experiences, that in highschool there is a lot of pressure to conform.
 

However, I have found (so far) that University life is so much free-er.

As long as you are not interfering with someone elses life, I have found, you can listen, eat, dress and be however you choose to. No one is going to expell you from University for cutting your hair into a mohawk and dying it green. It's okay not to be the same as everyone else. You can choose to accept or reject what lessons you were taught as a child and teenager. I like this kind of freedom.
 

I see that there are so many bloggers and vloggers out there, informing their audiences of what to do or what not to do in various countries, including Australia.

For example: In Australia, they don't celebrate Halloween. *

And, I think this way of thinking is a little odd. It seems school-ish to me.
Although, I can understand where it's coming from. In all countries, as in highschool, at least some degree of conformity is relevant for survival. Furthermore, I am a bit of a people pleaser.
 

Still, I puzzle over questions like:

Isn't all that high strung highschool conformity stuff back there in the past?

I mean, as an adult, as long as you are conforming to the law and are not inconveniencing someone, isn't it ok to choose to do some things that are out of the norm that you enjoy?
Why do you want to be like everyone else anyway?
To what extent does culture take over someone's personality?

* "In Australia, they don't celebrate Halloween."

I'm sure that there are many people in Australia who don't celebrate Halloween but for me (personally), I did celebrate Halloween.

 

I have happy childhood memories of dressing up in scary costumes, watching my brother's friend's parents carve out a pumpkin, of bubbling dried ice cauldrons and late evening trick-or-treating.

In highschool, some people had Halloween parties and on Halloween you could choose to go to highschool dressed in a scary costume. The shops get decorated in celebration of Halloween each year. Even some 'internet banking' signs in Australia get decorated with Halloween spider nests.

 

 

You can actually celebrate Halloween in Australia if you want to.
And, there are some people who might think it is a little odd and 'unAustralian' to do so.
But, I am native to Australia and I have celebrated Halloween many times before.
So, is it really your problem that someone else has a problem with you doing something non traditional or is it theirs?
I think it might be their problem.