My dad likes to give me crap about how my generation, millennials, are a bunch of idiots who all think that they need to be special snowflakes, that they need to have some distinct difference so that they can stand out from the crowd. He says that, with this mindset, it's turned us all soft and extremely politically correct, to the point where we can't function in society anymore. We need to have everything accommodating for us, and if it isn't, it might as well be the end of the world. To be honest, I disagree with a lot of what he says. Not because it's fun to banter back and forth with him, but because I believe we all need some special characteristic that sets us apart from the rest.
In my own opinion, we all need something that truly sets us apart from everyone else, something that just screams unique; if we don't have that, then how can we be different from the other 7 billion people on this Earth? How can we show everyone that we aren't just another face in the crowd? And it doesn't matter whether that uniqueness is something as simple as a personal hobby, or some wild haircut, or as complex as a completely crazy political ideology or our manner of speech, as long as it sets us apart from everyone else, it works.
But even though we should all strive for that one thing that makes us unique, we shouldn't try to revolve our lives around it. Sometimes its better not to draw attention to yourself, rather than letting the entire world know just how different you are. Because sometimes, even though we pride ourselves on what makes us unique, others will look down on us because of what makes us unique. And of course, we can go through life by the idea of not caring what others think about us, but at one point or another we will have to; if what makes us unique is driving away the people we want to be with, then maybe it's time to give up that uniqueness.
Now, I'm not saying that we should completely give up what makes us unique, far from it. All I am saying is that, while we should all strive to find that one aspect that does make us stand out, we should be careful that that aspect doesn't make us too unique; sometimes its better to blend with the crowd, rather than being the sore thumb that sticks out.