The Hierophant (5)

Popular. That's what all those kids out there in secondary school think. Appearances. Fashion. Conformity. Cognitive resonance, not dissonance. Aesop's Fox and the Sour Grapes. Remember? Old story. But one that applies. All of them trying to fit in, with their magazines, boy bands, girl bands and such meaningless things. Ever wondered how it all began, this desire for lesser cognitive dissonance?
No one is ever original nowadays. One person says that he enjoys a song, and the other person will just say that he enjoyed it too, for he does not want to be labeled, "different" or "weirdo". And then, everyone picks it up, just because everyone else enjoys it too. Where has creativity gone? Out to lunch, I hope, for then he may return soon. Yet, you must remember, time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so. So find your spark of creativity today, and not be like all those mindless zombies out there. Trigger your synapses, engage your senses. No, I'm not saying to try drugs.
Just don't do something because everyone else is also doing it. Play some music that you've always liked but never dared to say so because no one else has ever heard of it. Don't be afraid. Write witty things, draw cool things if you're artsy-fartsy, just not "cool" as defined by fashion nowadays. Never let the masses tell you what's "in" and what's "out", follow your own likes and dislikes. Play Tetris, play Pac-man, have the time of your life with reading, and don't let them call you a "nerd", 'cause that's a derogatory term. Geek is so much nicer. Whistle self-made tunes, and don't let anyone get you down because they find it abnormal. Accept feedback, constructive feedback, but don't ever let someone just go straight to your face and start hating it because it's "out".
Don't stick to old definitions or pronounce words wrongly because everyone pronounces it that way. Or you could be weird and pronounce things your way. Make new borders. Explore your life, see what's missing, get a pet rock, pretend to have sub-personalities for fun, it doesn't matter. What matters is that you hold on to you, yourself, your consciousness, your individuality, what makes you you. I admit, I have been guilty of this before and I'm not saying to hate anything that anyone else likes, I'm saying to have your own taste. This may sound just like an advertisement, but I'm telling you, Reject False Icons.