"You're unique -- just like everyone else."

I know it's trite -- but I'm frustrated with society.

I'm frustrated that I feel like I need to prove who I am.
I want to be an individual.
To feel like I'm unique, and that in my uniqueness I'm valuable and special.
But I already am an individual.
I'm frustrated that I feel like knowing that for myself isn't enough.

I want so badly to be different from other people.
I'm afraid of being generic.
I don't want to be replaceable.

I'm frustrated that things that mean a lot to me are becoming fads.
Like creativity and self-expression.
I think a big part of being an intriguing and unique person is being artsy and creative.
I really really admire creative people.
Even to the point of envy.
But I think what I envy more than their creativity is their ability to express themselves.
And the validation they recieve when they do.

I say I'm frustrated because as I'm trying to define who I am, and I feel like every time I turn around, someone else has 'stolen' some part of who I thought I was -- or at least who I was becoming.
But really that goes against what I say I want in the first place.

I want to discover the true me independent of all outside influence.

I feel like individuality is some secret unspoken competition between people struggling to define themselves and we're all just trying to out-do one another.
Like, instead of "survival of the fittest" it's "survival of the coolest".