Conformity

Ever since we were young, adults have told us to think for ourselves and to stand up for what we believe. This leads to a monumental misunderstanding on the part of the youth of our great world. You see, kids these days are very literal beings, and thus they are led to believe that what the "grown-ups" say is exactly what they mean. Due to this charming quality of childhood thought, many children are led to believe that they are indeed unique and freethinking individuals exempt from the conformity of their peers. The poor misguided souls soon learn, of course, that conformity is necessary to survival and that, without this pressure to be the same, anarchy would spring forth and consume us all. Our story begins with one such foolish adolescent named Bob who, as we will see, always believed himself to be somewhat of a rebel in that he refuses to conform to the trends that his peers cling to.

Bob was a typical 7th grade boy, wild, rambunctious, and full of that spirit that one inevitably loses with maturity. He had grown up in a very freethinking household in which he was encouraged to try anything that tipped his fancy and to find himself without influence from media and his peers. Up until the 7th grade, Bob had been home schooled which had allowed him to be nurtured in a somewhat atypical environment that his parents had established. This year however, his mother had decided to become a "modern woman" and join the prestigious ranks of women in the workforce. Yes, she got a job. This meant that no one would be home to teach and monitor Bob. Hence, Bob was enrolled in public middle school for his 7th grade year.

Since Bob had always been home schooled, the concept of junior high was somewhat appealing. To his adolescent mind, this new school, filled with boys, and especially with girls, his own age, was a wonderful adventure that he couldn't wait to start. Although on the outside, he feigned indifference at whether or not he would be accepted, in the back corners of his mind he was worried. "What if they laugh at me?" he wondered, "Or worse, what if they don't like me? What if I'm dumb? What ifÐ'...?"

Mind racing, Bob entered the school on his first day in a state of nervous excitement. At first, it seemed everyone wanted to be his friend. He was an enigma, the "new kid" who had never been to public school before. All the kids wanted to walk him to his classes and sit with him at lunch. Bob loved this new attention, especially from all the young 7th grade girls. In his attempts to keep his newfound popularity, Bob began to go against what he had always thought (i.e. that he is a unique, freethinking individual) and just to do as the general masses did. In order to feel that acceptance which all kids, whether or not they admit it, so desperately crave, he changed himself. He began to dress in clothes he bought at the mall, instead of what he found lying around in his room. He had to wake up extra early to make sure that his hair was just right, and glued in place, for the coming day. His grades were decent, but he was told that straight A's and other such brownnoser type grades were just not cool. Never having had grades before, this didn't really faze Bob, he was used to just doing the work and moving on.

As the school year progressed, Bob transformed from his creative, free-spirited old self, into a popular teenybopper. He dressed as the others saw fit, talked using bad grammar and loathsome slang such as "hella," "ghetto," and "holla." He listened to the popular music of the time, rap, as opposed to the classic rock/oldies he had loved growing up.

Before he had joined this public school, Bob had always felt that something could be gained from the