In movies, everyone seems to aspire to become the definition of a popular, “perfect” high schooler. But as the typically cheesy script and the occasional upbeat songs from these movies show us, the outcasts shouldn’t change who they are, but they should- believe it or not- embrace it and stand out in the crowd!

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with being different and unique and all that jazz, but somehow people come to the conclusion that conforming in high school is wrong. They then proceed to dodge anything and everything that has any essence of the stereotyped high schooler. Music that plays on the radio suddenly becomes too mainstream to listen to, different clothes become too common to shop for, and going to certain places and events becomes too unoriginal to ever consider. Apparently, the second something becomes too popular is the second that it lacks quality.

But in reality, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying something that a million other people enjoy, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with not finding a music artist before they became popular and before everyone knows about them. Newsflash, you still aren’t any aspect of your own person if you purposely avoid conforming just so that you aren’t conforming.

Who you are isn’t unoriginal if it just so happens to overlap with a part of hundreds of other people. In fact, no matter what you do, say, or think, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll come across multiple people with the same ideas. Really, everyone’s just a collection of everything they’ve gained from people, experiences, and things thus far in their lives. In that sense, it’s almost impossible to be completely original.

Do yourself a favor and try to stop identifying yourself by the clothes you wear, the music you listen to, or what’s “cool.” Instead, figure out who you are by your own morals, thoughts, and passions, and take it wherever the hell you want to from there.