The Rebel Within

Often times, we are asked to conform, to fit in, to adjust ourselves, or to just go with the flow. For most of us, this would be a good idea. In fact, it would be the ideal situation that our parents had envisioned for us – to blend in. These parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles or mentors raise each of us to follow orders, do as we’re told, respect elders and simply diminish our own inhibitions as not to make a scene. Little do these “grown-ups” know that they are actually asking us to give up so much more.

Our internal understanding of the world is slowly being shaped to simply do the accepted thing. Questioning the norm is found to be outlandish, crazy or even disrespectful.

The generation and culture I grew up in respected unity. They held highly the collective tranquility within the community. Don’t get me wrong, this structure is needed in many places for it to function. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this; unless of course, you’re a rebel like me.

Being a rebel has many derogatory connotations that come along with it. It suggests tattoos, piercings, weird hair cuts with even weirder colors,  a strong disregard for authority and of course, horrible fashion (yes, I had fallen victim to each of the mentioned “phases,” as my parents called it). On the other hand, I’m now telling you that we all need to listen to that rebel within us, if only for a moment!

You need to listen to your inner rebel because it’s that inner voice within us that will question the very existence of life. It’s that unbiased, unscrutinized, uninfected inner monologue that tells us all what is right and what is wrong. It’s what will make us stand up for what we believe in and turn us into a wolf amongst the sheep.

“Well behaved women rarely make history” ~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

We each lose our ability to think, to dream and to live our own lives the second we stop listening to our inner rebel. When we just follow the same unremarkable routines of those who have gone before us, we lose our power, our strength, our very selves.

Don’t get me wrong, we should still respect our elders, we should still listen to advice and we still need to have limitations to what we rebel againts. All I’m saying is that we each need to question everything that is thrown at us then formulate our own conclusions.

So dear moms and dads out there, when you tell your kids to blend in and to do as they’re told – please know that you’re asking them to give up on themselves.

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson.