Essay on Feelings on Conformity

Submitted By sbechtel1
Words: 856
Pages: 4
Open Document
Feelings on Conformity
A Japanese proverb says, "The nail that sticks out will be hammered down." Society tries to place many rules on us as an individual as to what is acceptable and what is not. I feel that we must decide for ourselves whether to conform to the society we live in. The idea that it is unfavorable to be unique had been impressed upon me since I was very young. Nowhere else was this more apparent than in the small Roman-Catholic community I was raised in. My mother wanted me to be like every other little girl at Sunday school, sweet, quiet and invisible. My father was the opposite, wanting me to have my own opinions and not be tied down by marriage or children at a young age. He encouraged me to see the world and try to change it with my own ideas. My parents were complete opposites of each other; my mother had been raised in a very religious home in the community where we lived. My father had grown up on the Mattole-Wiyot reservation, enduring prejudice his entire life for his heritage. He had worked hard to prove his value to the world and to my mother’s parents. Being brought up in a household of such different ideals was confusing at times; but looking back, I think they tried to do the best they could with what they knew.
I had many experiences where I had a conflict with the way of thinking in my community. One instance I can remember is when a homeless man came into town and was digging through the local restaurants’ trash can; everyone was outraged to have this “filth” in our small town. At church it had become the center of conversation. All the people I had looked up to, talking with such disdain and contempt. The anger I felt from that was unnerving; how could they be so selfish? Wasn’t it our duty as God loving people to help the less fortunate? Who are we to judge this man? I didn’t say anything to anyone though. I was silent throughout the discussion. It was still seared into my being that I shouldn’t have different opinions, I should be quiet. The police arrested that man for trespassing and I never saw or heard of him again. I knew it was wrong and I realized the benefits of being true to ourselves should greatly outweigh any negative aspects of choosing that path. I knew I had to change the way I was and break the mold I had been poured into. I had to decide for myself whether to spend every day trying to be like everyone else because the society I lived in says I should or living each day being true to the thoughts I had about life, love, and religion. I had my own strength as a person and I was going to prove it through my own decisions. I saw things differently than everyone else, and I wanted to make changes in the way the world was. I didn’t think that everything was black and white, there had to be shades of gray in there somewhere. Life isn’t simple, and part of life is discovering the many different answers to each question.
It took time though, and it was very
Show More

Related Documents: Essay on Feelings on Conformity

Conformity And Informational Influence

with which they disagreed privately. Informational influence, on the other hand, occurs when people use the judgments of others to reduce their own uncertainty. It results in a new opinion—public and private—that incorporates the beliefs of others. Conformity, in my opinion, is an enthralling and perplexing subject for countless reasons. One reason being that we live in a world that encourages…

Words 537 - Pages 3

Rhetorical Analysis Of Individuality Vs Conformity

Of aristotle’s three rhetorical appeals the author of ¨ Individuality vs Conformity: A Healthy Middle?¨ pathos is most effectively to get the reader to get a heart touching feeling. The author In the article, Individuality vs. Conformity: The healthy middle is a discussion on how that these two things Individuality and Conformity are both either for good or for worse. She supports her discussion on how wanting to be a lone wolf isn’t bad and neither is trying to be that one person that wants…

Words 196 - Pages 1

Research Paper About Conformity

Conformity, in my opinion, is an enthralling and perplexing subject for countless reasons. One reason being that we live in a world that encourages and promotes individualistic thinking and to follow our own path. However, this is only true for some because in our society there is an ubiquitous pressure that surrounds us that influences and encourages us to conform to such things as watching the same shows and movies.We are socialized beings, we may think that we are unique snowflakes but we conform…

Words 317 - Pages 2

Social Influence On Conformism

The primary inspiration responsible for this conformity is associated with informational and normative influences. Nonetheless there are a number of other mechanisms…

Words 772 - Pages 4

Examples Of Conformity

.That is when Conformity in our behaviors begin. Conformity is altering our behaviors or opinions to match those of others or to match what is expected of us (1). There has always been a saying, the people you hang out with tell the person you are. Majority of the time that is a correct statement. If we associate ourselves with people who often are racist to a certain race or have a negative attitude towards a certain race, we too will have that same attitude and negative feelings towards that race…

Words 325 - Pages 2

Conformity Vs. Society

as school, you feel the urge to fit in. Things on T.V., social media, and social causes these feelings. Everyone is told by society what to wear and act. Some may say that conformity will keep the peace because it would be less troublesome. Even though in some ways we need to conform, but society can’t always be perfect. If everyone were were to all conform then society would be like robots. Conformity causes people to change how they look and act. You don’t need to change anything to be happy.…

Words 173 - Pages 1

Conformity And Consequences Of Obedience

Obedience is compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another authority. It is behavior that is mindful and respectful of rules and laws. Conformity is a change in behavior or beliefs as a result of real or imagined group pressure. We naturally conform to the “norm of society”. Obedience and Conformity are two of the most common types of human behavior. We normally obey our parent’s, authority figures, and rules/laws. The motivation to obey comes from either wanting to be rewarded…

Words 411 - Pages 2

Louis Simpson Conformity Essay

John F. Kennedy once professed “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” The complexity of this quote comes from the understanding of the word conformity. Conformity is defined as acting in the same attitude, belief, or behavior to the social norm. Kennedys declaration denounces the strain society upholds on the expectations of one’s individual traits. This, as a result, puts them in a situation to choose whether to be trapped by societal desires or to step away from the crowd…

Words 2268 - Pages 10

Essay about conformity swag

April 9, 2014 Conformity is important because it provides predictability between a group of individuals. When you have conformity the individual in society understands their boundaries their place and their role. An example would be the guidelines followed by military and the police force. They are given a set of guide lines to follow to ensure effectiveness in society to be followed. You want a set of rules were you understand the same procedure is followed by everyone. By doing so a smoother…

Words 1265 - Pages 6

Carlos J. Torelli's Journal Analysis

It focuses on individuality and conformity, a semi-strong form of social influence. We have learned in class that conformity refers to when people adjust their behaviors to bring in agreement with the opinions of others. Most of our daily activities are affected by conformity. For instance, consumers tend to buy products of a popular brand, and group members of a social group tend to reveal similar opinions. Many of the influences of conformity are shown in the Asch Experiment, where people…

Words 922 - Pages 4