Anyone who has been a continued reader of my blog or anyone who has regular conversations with me on a daily basis knows that from the very beginning I have always been a person of complexity. I think complex thoughts, create complex ideas, and just enjoy the depths and meaning that this complexity gives me. I define myself with the word complex, not mature, not wise...complex.
Just recently, I came to a discovery. I am not complex at all. Just human.
It all started in the beginning of high school. Freshman year. I was still in the process of understanding more about myself and I had a few different groups of friends I accompanied myself with. One group of friends was a trio of punk/rock band-loving girls who wore dark make-up, wore band branded t-shirts & ripped jeans, and had a new piercing on their face every other week. I wasn't a fan of punk/rock music and I did not own anything in my closet that was even remotely similar to their style, but I somehow still managed to create a place for myself in the group. As a matter of fact when I used to hang out with this group of friends, while they were all wearing black and white, I stood out in a pretty pink blouse and plain ol' jeans.
Another group of friends did not actually have a distinct type of profile which I can describe. This group of friends dressed similar to me, liked some of the music I liked, and never wore much make-up. Ironically, although I had more in common with this group of friends, I spent most of my time with the other groups of friends.
The last group of friends I used to accompany myself with can only be described as outgoing. This group was very social and liked to go out a lot whether that would be hanging out the mall or going to a social gathering, or grabbing ice cream. This group would always have something going on. Beyond that, this group of friends always advised and encouraged me while the other groups could not influence me so positively.
Now at the end of Senior year with graduation less than a month away, I can see how I have grown so much.
Slowly, I lost all three groups of friends. The first group of friends...gone at the end of Freshman year. The last group...gone at the end of Sophomore year. And the second group...gone just recently. Since Freshman year, I haven't had the "I fit-in everywhere feeling" because I didn't. I lost these group of friends and ultimately kept one best friend throughout the years who was not involved in any of these groups.
I learned that I was building myself to be a complex person. As if being a part of such diverse groups of people made me well-rounded. But, the truth is...it didn't make me well-rounded at all because with any group of friends, I was still the same person. No group of friends influenced me as much as I influenced myself. Throughout all of high school, instead of wondering if I would be accepted, I inserted myself everywhere. Doing that showed me that in the very end I was not meant to be part of a group. I was meant to stand alone with one person by my side. I am not a complex person, I see. I am a human being...just being me.