The Integration of Human Society

            

Since our conception it seems we have an innate nature to belong. Whether it is to belong to a family, religion or group of friends. We are all prone to be amongst others in order to continue our survival on this planet. As the saying goes, "no man is an island". We are already classified into belonging to a particular group of people by virtue of our birth namely race, sex, religion or class. The various races of the world are primarily classified into three namely Caucasian, Mongolian and Negro. The various peoples of the world come from one of these classes or a mixture of them.
             From birth we learn how to belong to a family which is the first stage of socializing in the lives of everyone. As we grow older we are introduced to the school environment filled with people of different races, ethnicities and social backgrounds. But children don't take these factors into consideration when choosing their friends. However as they grow older and become aware of the world they live in they are influenced by these factors. Though some may prefare not to they are obligated to befriend particular types of people because they belong to the same class, race, etc or simply because they are rejected by other groups hence end up with those willing to accept them.
             It seems one thing people learn as they grow up is to blend into a crowd. To be just like everyone else and hence people fail to be their true selves thus hiding who they are and who God intended them to be.
            As you take a look at your society, you'll see that people seem to be alike. With the same behaviours and attitudes, that its not difficult to predict their next move in life. Some spend their entire lives trying to please others by pretending to be someone they are not that, when the time comes when they are free to be themselves, they face the dilemma of not knowing who they are anymore, because they've been consumed by the life of pretense they lived  for many years.
            This is the kind of world we live in now. People watch television and movies and adopt the characters and behaviours of those onscreen, believing that's the right way to behave in certain situations or life in general. And in a world where people are greatly influenced by the masses, individuality seems to have faded out.
            We should learn from children who live their lives just being themselves interacting with various people despite whatever abilities or disabilities they have. Children don't understand why someone should pretend to be anybody else, in their minds they just want to be themselves and with whatever they have, achieve something great.
            That is one secret to success to be yourself. You can always pretend to be someone you're not and be successful but you won't be as successful as when you tried to be yourself. Look at the great men in our history, those who made landmarks and as a result have had an enormous effect in our lives were all themselves. They didn't follow the trends as their counterparts but because they were themselves have been recognized as great people. An example of such a person is Albert Einstein, who could've followed the norm of giving up on his education when he failed the entrance exam to university, didn't give up but persevered in his education. Even as an acclaimed scientist, he didn't do the same things they did but did things his own way. Even though they ridiculed him, he ended up being better than them and many of the breakthroughs in science and technology today are all due to his discoveries.
            We need to stop fading ourselves into the crowd but begin standing out for though it's scary the rewards are great.

Picture: Courtesy of Dextdee Photography