Why exactly must we conform?

      So here's my question- Why are we who we are? Why when you walk past people in the mall, the kind that travel in tight bunches, why do they all seem the same? I always look at the humor in a bunch of white homies sauntering by with the characteristically sagging pants, wifebeaters, and the little limp-walk thing they do, but afterwards, the seriousness of it hits me. They all have adopted that walk and outfit, it's not something they were born with, just like there is no gene that causes people to be homosexual. All of our choices are based what we see around us. Chances are, even if we say that we are hopelessly addicted to not being seen as part of the crowd, there probably are at least a few people you have seen in your life that have influenced your wardrobe, or your walk, or your accent. Take me, for example. I was born in the South to two former Yankee parents. My mother especially has stressed proper grammar and education, and most of the time, I do fairly well. But sometimes, I catch myself saying something that sounds incredibly redneck for someone that scorns their idiocy so much, like "ain't" or simply something that seems to have redneck inflection. I have always prided myself on my speech and the way I present myself to others. So why, I ask, have I seem to have developed their way of speech at random moments? Why do we let the others around us affect us so much?
     The really bad part is, we always let them influence us in neutral or negative ways, but we never try to influence them in positive ways, like on the importance of having Christ in their lives. We are so afraid now of rocking the boat that we practically wait until other people capsize us to do anything about it. I'm guilty of this myself, so I'm not accusing anyone. I have become a stronger person since I have gotten into high school and I'm not afraid to let  my views be known, at least not like I used to be. It's ridiculous how often friendships are broken up because of a parting in the ways over something that should be allowed to be opinionated on, no matter if the other person agrees or not. Some of my best friends once were all at a party, and over cake, we started talking politics and abortion, and before you know it, we were launched into a nice little discussion, but none of us had any problems with a disagreeing opinion. That's a healthy friendship, when you can agree to disagree.
     What really bothers me is just how impressionable people my age are. I thought that phase passed when we got into our teens, but apparently not. Magazines play a chief role in this, because all you have to do is advertise Vans in the fashion section, and suddenly, everyone and her friend has a pair, whether they even know why actual non-poser people wear them or not. That's why wearing Chucks is such a bummer anymore, because everyone has a pair. And they actually try to keep them looking nice, which is what lets me know that they're a poser right off the bat. What I don't understand is why. Individualism is such a stressed thing anymore, and yet everyone looks like carbon copies. (Which is one of the reasons I refuse to set foot into Abercrombie, Aero, or American Eagle, because everyone is wearing their clothes.) Being different is just so liberating, and if you think about it, it's healthy, too, because you are learning now to be set apart, which is something we need for real life, and to go to Heaven one day. Better now than later, or in the case of far too many people, never.

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