On Growing as a Person

One of my favorite things about human beings is that we continually change. Not just as a species, but as individuals. I like seeing the people I know change and grow (sometimes) and I love watching it happen to myself.

I think one of the greatest things we have to offer ourselves is our adaptability. If there's something we don't like about ourselves, we can work on it and change it or eradicate it. If we see something we like in someone else, we can adopt it and make it our own.

I, myself, am notorious for taking other people's characteristics and making them my own. I got my blog name because I liked the way one of my high school classmates always said "oh my gracious." I started caring more about people because the two people I love and respect the most (my boyfriend and an adviser) are two of the most caring and kind- hearted people I know. I started dressing the way I do because I saw it on some of my favorite shows and I do my hair based off of people who did their hair the same way, and I liked it. I started blogging in the first place because Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City had a column in a newspaper and wrote all the time, and that's what I wanted to do. I mean, I didn't necessarily want to write a sex column for a New York City newspaper, but I wanted to write.

It's interesting, though. People seem to think that if you model yourself after what you see elsewhere, you're "fake". However, I don't think that's the case. I think that, sociologically, we all do it, but some people are more willing to admit it than others. There's actually this idea in sociology called "group mentality" or "herd mentality" that describes exactly what I'm talking about. It's the tendency we as human beings have to be influenced by our peers in the way we speak, act, and even how we decorate our homes!

But anyway. I think it's important that, as we grow and develop who we are going to be for the rest of our lives, we are open and receptive to new ideas, new styles, and new ways of living. There's no way to know what you're going to like or what you won't like until you've tried it.

Keep growing, kids. <3