Began October 19, 1997 By Clay Busker What is Unique? Who is unique? Am I unique? Are you unique? Is everyone unique? What is truly unique? "Always remember, you're unique, just like everyone else." -- Famous quote of someone, who must have really been unique. I walk around in this world, and wonder about the people that are by me. Are they unique? Is there a thought in their mind that has not been thought before? Do they go searching through life, looking for something, perhaps finding, but never having it be something that they can say that they decided on themselves, with no help from a clergy man or a teacher? Am I unique? I might say yes, but I am certainly biased. A better question would be, is anyone else unique? That's still a bit hard. How about, what makes a person not unique? Let's start with the easy ones. There are many valuable people out there that say that they would rather not think. I know that people don't really mean it when they say it, but it gets a point across. It shows us that thinking deep, introspective thoughts really bugs them. It rips open their soul, or something. They're content with just coasting through the world, letting others tell them what they should know. Learning what they have to, and doing what will make them feel good in the end. How about the people that are suckers for peer pressure? Yes, I know that there is no such thing as peer pressure, it's just what you want to do. Well, I would say that there is such a thing as peer pressure. Why do people in schools drink beer? Beer, which has the reputation for being bitter, and not tasting good at all. How stupid can you get? But it starts when you're getting together with your friends. They say, "Want a beer?". You say, "Sure.", wanting to fit in. Then a couple of beers later and your first close encounter with the word, "hangover", you realize how stupid you were. Then you do it again. Well, maybe not drunk enough to have the beer go out the way it went it, but a beer or two nonetheless. Or smoking. Please. If I have to explain that... Everyone wants to fit in. Everyone wants to have their group of friends that they feel comfortable with. Everyone wants people to pay attention to them and their needs. Everyone wants to belong to something. Everyone wants to be what everyone else wants to be. Everyone wants to be the greatest human. And that makes a person non-unique. Why do we need to fit in? We don't. Why don't we just have friends that are friends because they're nice to each other, not because one person wanted to become a part of the group? Why do people want to belong to something? Why not create something themselves? If you want to make something truly memorable, you have to do it yourself. Why would anyone want to be the greatest human? What does that accomplish? Great, people love you, want to be around you, and never stop bugging you. You're worshipped. Great. You may still feel empty inside. If you did what you were supposed to do, or what others thought would be good for you, and you made it big doing that, you feel empty. Most importantly, why would anyone want to do anything to become the person that everyone else wants to be? Why would I want to have John Doe want to become me? I wouldn't. I have digressed too far. I am a person that many people have called unique. I am unique, but I wonder whether I am truly unique. On one hand, I can say that I am like my parents, and I can show you where I succumb to society every day. On the other hand, I wear what I want to wear, and my fashion sense has never been what everyone's is. I don't like jeans. I'm not sure exactly why, but I don't. Too plain, non-unique, perhaps. I could tell you that I haven't rebelled against my parents. Which is the ultimate rebellion. Everyone rebels against their parents, and agrees with society. No one rebels against society and agrees with their parents. That is, until they're about 30. So much wasted time. I could tell you that I believe what I believe because of who I am, rather than because of what I have been taught. My father is a pastor. I am a christian, just like my father. Yet I don't feel sated by my father's sermons. I know them. No, I don't know the message, and I learn something from each one, but they're all the same. Teachings. Trying to teach wisdom. But what is deeper than that? There must be something. Some deeper thoughts that we can comment on. There is. I will find it. Also, I question everything that my father says. I question everything that anyone says. Often I can find many holes in their ideas. 99% or more of the people are just sitting there and taking it in, only stopping to think about whether or not what the person is saying is completely right when the pastor hits on a subject that they disagree completely with the pastor. What about the little things? What about questioning the big things? I have said to many people that I believe the world is flat. I don't. I say it because I want to see what kind of a reaction I can get from that person. Almost no one can flat out refute my logic. They just give me a funny look, and tell me to shut up. We just assume that it is correct. What if it isn't? We're building our thoughts based upon faulty logic. We assume that what our teachers taught us was correct. We can't think for ourselves long enough to say, "Hey, that might not be right..." Where can I find another with original thought? Or perhaps my thoughts aren't original. Heck, I know this argument isn't new. All I know for sure is that I am different. I was born different. I grew up differently. I am learning differently. I learned by watching, rather than by experiencing. I was born deformed, and was not named until three days after I came out of the womb. I'm thinking thoughts that are common for people in their thirties and fourties. Heck, I'm reading classics for FUN! I haven't done this topic justice, and I consider this document useless in the way of writing something. But it was useful in getting thoughts out, and beginning the process of actually thinking through the entire subject. If I can't do it with someone else, I'll do it by myself.