That's what I do, walk to the beat of my very own drum and I think it is safe to say that I have always done so. What I am learning as my life experiences grow, aka I get old, is that very few people understand or appreciate this quality:) I will admit that to someone looking in, it could appear that I am simply a non-conformist, simply to not conform, but that is not the case. I am a non-conformist because I refuse to follow blindly to anything and "because I said so" whether from my mother or society is just not a sound enough reason for me. It is not that I strive to "be different", I just don't NEED to be like anyone else. I want to believe and agree with the people I follow or the ideas I embrace. When somebody asks me "why", I want to have an answer based on something more than "because my mother said" or "the Bible says so", I want to see and believe it for myself.
Not everybody understands this, okay few do, and that is fine. I get that it is hard to understand why someone would just buck the system when there seems no really harm in following, but to me the harm is in "just following" and I want my children to understand that. Those are my values, "believe and understand, that which you conform to" and choose carefully!
There are things that my children "conform" to that drive me insane! Most of them come at school, but through the help of my husband I do understand that as children then need to "fit-in" sometimes and conform. And I try (and my god is it hard!)to let these things slide by without throwing my two-cents in, but sometimes I cannot stop myself from sharing:)
Sharing my values with my children is a privilege I have been given as their mother and primary caregiver, just as any other mother. Because my values my seem "different" and non-conforming does not make them wrong or unwilling to be shared. I welcome my monsters to think for themselves and form their own beliefs. I want them to WANT the things in which they believe, not do/believe because I do or someone else does.
See, my non-conformists ways are not so scary:) It is not like I am a Democrat or something;-)
1 comment:
There's nothing wrong when kids try and get along. That's human nature. To me, it's important to let kids know that the blackboard ends at the frame and there's a whole wide world outside the frame- and go and find their way at their pace and in their own way.
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