may 26 '26
hello all,
what does being "unique" mean to you?
i do not mean literally, though that's acceptable too, i mean moreso what it means to you personally. what's your relationship with the idea?
i know quite a few people who feel a need to try to be unique, while others, like myself, find themselves in a polar opposite mindset.
Well...Everyone is unique! Everyone is unique and interesting and I can't see someone not being unique to be honest (*´ω｀)
being unique izzz a very complicated term like many others, and that if i were to dissect it, id probably fry my brain in the process.. heres what i think though, although its rather perfunctory ^_^đź’§
from how i see it, uniqueness within group settings is not real. there will always be some sort of group dynamics that youll be perpetuating with others, but uniqueness depends on solely you ! its a concept i dont really have an opinion about.. though, i do think that trying to be unique is respectable; as it goes against the instinctual want to fit in with society :> fitting in with the mass is basically hardwired in your brain as you seek the security and comfort it gives you, so seeing someone standing out is interesting!
My relationship with the concept of being unique is quite difficult. I am very personal to the idea of fitting in because of my entire life. I watch shows with the lesson of “being weird is okay” and resonate with them so deeply because I’ve always been an outcast. I don’t like the social idea of uniqueness because the idea of being different has been modernized and stereotyped so hard that it’s just another way to fit people into a mold. I enjoy being myself and if that means I’m unique, I equally love it and equally hate it. I’ll always love people being themselves. But my relationship with being “unique” is complicated. Who cares if you’re unique or not? Just be yourself.
this ask all kind of made me realize i've never used 'unique' to describe a person (or myself), at least not unironically. i usually use it to describe clothes, fashion, or objects (e.g. "oh that vase is unique" or "that person's fashion style is unique" [both in positive contexts]). however, if it revolves around me in some capacity (e.g. my mom finds a shirt she thinks i'd like at some store and sends me a picture and i reply saying its 'unique' [typically negative]).
so to me, i guess the word 'unique' means something that stands out in some way. based on my realization above, the way i think about uniqueness/standing out in regard to myself could be as simple as me not liking the shirt or as deep as me thinking i can't/shouldn't standout.
idk if that made sense :sob:
To me, being unique means having a quality that's unlike any other in some way to some degree. While I did have an urge to be unique in the past, I find that most of my joys are shared when I find a common ground with other people. Now I only really do things that secure my own happiness without having a need to "stand out." I think the only time I try to be unique, in a way, is through my creative works, but that's because I'd like my own voice to shine through as a trademark of sorts. Otherwise, I stick by the mindset that every human being is inherently unique, even if some are more "predictable" than others.
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