Being Me | Teen Ink

Being Me

October 18, 2011
By Smile-And-Wave-Boys. SILVER, Rotherhithe, Other
Smile-And-Wave-Boys. SILVER, Rotherhithe, Other
8 articles 1 photo 38 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Everyone wants to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down."
— Oprah Winfrey


See that girl over there? She’d do anything to fit in. Shame she won’t, no matter how hard she wishes. She sticks out like a sore thumb. Doesn’t stop her trying though.

See that girl over there? The one who’s wearing the exact same clothes as her friends, with the exact same brands? She’s still trying to fit in. She’s slowly fitting the mould, but not completely. Not yet.

See that girl over there? The one who’s wearing the tops with brand names splayed across them and Vans, but looks slightly uncomfortable? It’s almost as if she doesn’t actually like them. But that can’t be the truth. Why would anyone wear clothes they don’t like? What, for the sake of popularity? But then, that girl does want to fit in.

See that girl over there? The one who’s laughing and smiling with her friends, but is an almost imperceptible distance away from them? She’s trying to fit in, but not as much. All those brand clothes are expensive. She sometimes goes for weird tops she can afford, but can’t bring herself to stop wearing her Hollister tops. Not yet.

See that girl over there? The one getting mocked by her friends for renouncing the clothes that meant being popular, but now signifies being a sheep? She’s selling her tops on eBay, and designing tops herself, not choosing to promote somebody else’s brand.

See that girl over there? The one wearing those outlandish t-shirts, bright blue skinny jeans and scuffed inked trainers? Yeah, that’s right, the one who wanted to fit in. The one who was destined to do anything but. Her ‘friends’ aren’t her friends anymore. Apparently, it’s embarrassing to be seen with someone who dresses like a freak. The girl disagrees with that. To her, it’s embarrassing to be someone who dresses like everybody else-to be no more than a follower.

See that girl over there? The one selling t-shirts out of her bagpack? She’s sold 40 already. She was up till 2.AM, painstakingly drawing each design on every one. Not one of them is the same.

See that girl over there? The one getting a compliment on her t-shirts every 2 minutes as she passes people that are wearing them? Her tops are being sold in Urban Outfitters as we speak.

See that girl over there? The one with the slightly amused expression as she watches the group of clones sidle up to her, and act all friendly after nearly 6 months of freezing her out? She listens patiently as the girls tell her all she’s missed, who got with who, who broke up with who. They slip in the latest trend too, hoping she’ll take their subtle advice. They say that it will make her ‘more like them’, as if it were a privilege. The girl gives them a look a mother would give naïve children. She takes off her jacket, and shows them her shirt. It says: ‘COMFORMITY WAS NEVER REALLY MY THING’. And with that, she walks away,



Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 24 comments.


on Feb. 23 2013 at 8:02 pm
WhenItRains21 GOLD, Magnolia, Texas
12 articles 0 photos 54 comments
Really great. It felt like it was written honestly and from the heart. I also liked the repetition of the paragraphs as the story progressed. Great job!  

DanielM. said...
on Apr. 20 2012 at 6:04 pm
That was an awesome Poem. I really liked your message its so real. Everybody grows up with this mentaility that we have to be someone werent not but if we looked in the mirror and actually paid attention to how we are acting we would actually realize that being fake isnt the best option. Great Message!

on Feb. 25 2012 at 11:47 am
Lady_Lemon GOLD, Franklin, Wisconsin
11 articles 1 photo 43 comments
Ohhh snap!! :) I loevd this, because its sooo true. So many people try to be something they're not for the sake of "popularity" What is that anyways? Becoming something just so others like a FAKE you? I don't see the point; people will actually like the REAL you, if you give them the chance. Conformity has never been my thing ;)

on Feb. 25 2012 at 11:46 am
Mantequilla SILVER, Eagan, Minnesota
8 articles 0 photos 79 comments
sha-bam. WIN. 5/5 <3 I love the pattern of, "see that girl over there?" Keep rocking. :)

on Feb. 23 2012 at 11:54 am
MercyChristine GOLD, Oak Grove, Minnesota
10 articles 7 photos 57 comments

Favorite Quote:
oh shnykeis!

:D

I love this

<3

Enough said.

though you forgot the girl who goes to thrift stores, buys t shirts, cuts them up and makes them into something new :D

great work


on Feb. 20 2012 at 7:50 pm
yellowflower SILVER, Basking Ridge, New Jersey
8 articles 0 photos 47 comments
I love this! My favorite part was the shirt reading "conformity was never really my thing" ~priceless! Your writing style is interesting, I want to read more!

on Feb. 20 2012 at 8:26 am
Jappyalldayeveryday, Detroit, Michigan
0 articles 0 photos 163 comments

Favorite Quote:
They say that good things take time, but really great things happen in the blink of an eye

I like this a lot :)

on Feb. 19 2012 at 8:38 pm
Amaranthinium GOLD, Dade City, Florida
10 articles 0 photos 49 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Do not let numbers tell you what to do. You are blood and earth, not theory and chalk." -Welcome to Night Vale

Great! The writing was good without being too fancy or bland, and the repitition worked very well. Like another commenter pointed out, it could have been more subtle, but you still make a very good, and very true, point.

on Feb. 19 2012 at 6:28 pm
AndRachelLovesyou SILVER, Stone Mountain, Georgia
5 articles 0 photos 15 comments

Favorite Quote:
Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.
-Winnie The Pooh

So I really like this idea, and absolutely loved the style of repetition for each paragraph. I think you did a good job with it. One small criticism is that the theme was very obvious from the start. Even if the writing was good, it wasn't very subtle. You also spent a lot of time explaining, I would give my reader a chance to figure it out. (Just my opinion, feel free to ignore it)

on Feb. 19 2012 at 10:18 am
PhoenixCrossing GOLD, Tinley Park, Illinois
14 articles 0 photos 178 comments
I really like this. It's so true and so emotional. I liked how your style and format was really unique. Great job :)

on Feb. 18 2012 at 6:46 pm
SteelJam BRONZE, Cheswick, Pennsylvania
3 articles 1 photo 19 comments
I love how you showed the girl's journey. A lot of the time, people will just show a quick before and after, but this was excellent!

on Feb. 18 2012 at 3:35 pm
DaughteroftheTrumpet BRONZE, East Aurora, New York
2 articles 2 photos 214 comments

Favorite Quote:
Washington Irving once said “There is sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They are messengers of overwhelming grief and of unspeakable love.”

An excellent way of showing the difficulty someone might have fitting it, and how individuality is special, and not something that should be disgarded. I am from the states, so I am thinking the two "mistakes" I would have caught are truely just differences in the language. Good job.

on Jan. 16 2012 at 9:06 am
Supernova7 GOLD, Redford, Texas
16 articles 6 photos 394 comments

Favorite Quote:
Let me cry my tears let me live in sorrow as long as you promise to be with me tomorrow
By Me:)

I love the ending it was clever:) Great job keep on writing:)

on Nov. 19 2011 at 4:11 pm
kingofwriters BRONZE, DeWitt, Michigan
1 article 0 photos 196 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Books are a uniquely portable magic." - Stephen King

I love books, and I love technology, but I don't want to see the latter overwhelm the former. I just think books are meant to be pages you turn, not screens you scroll through.

This is a great story; you're a really talented writer!

I loved the way you described how the girl was doing in each paragraph, and the whole story was very creative!

Great job! :)


BluBliss GOLD said...
on Nov. 6 2011 at 9:00 am
BluBliss GOLD, New York, New York
14 articles 0 photos 161 comments

Favorite Quote:
Bella's love for Edward was like, "Omg. He's hot. He's mine because he sparkles. Now I'll brood the wholle book while I'm with him."

I like how u started each paragraph with the same sentence. And the change of the girl from weird, to a clone, then back to weird but confident. I especially like how u said she was destined to be different. :)now great work.

on Nov. 3 2011 at 5:25 pm
Kvothe28 SILVER, Temecula, California
5 articles 0 photos 78 comments

Favorite Quote:
Excuse me while I prepare my impromptu remarks. -Winston Churchill

Tell it like it is, not how it was. -Jonathan

Break it down like a fine English double-gun. -R. Bitoni

I really liked this. The same beginning to each sentence as the girl slowly grew into someone unique was cool. Congradulations on the editor's choice! =)

on Oct. 31 2011 at 10:01 am
Garnet77 PLATINUM, Sinagpore, Other
31 articles 6 photos 577 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Everything's a triangle." ~ My mother

"Write what you love, write what you care about, because sometimes, it's the easiest way to be heard."

Wow. I really, really love this. The imagery was perfect. And I love the repitition at the beginning of each paragrpah. Also, very powerful ending. great job :)

on Oct. 25 2011 at 7:51 am
Smile-And-Wave-Boys. SILVER, Rotherhithe, Other
8 articles 1 photo 38 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Everyone wants to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down."
— Oprah Winfrey

Thank you, it really means alot :D

on Oct. 25 2011 at 7:50 am
Smile-And-Wave-Boys. SILVER, Rotherhithe, Other
8 articles 1 photo 38 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Everyone wants to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down."
— Oprah Winfrey

Thank You! Much appreciated :)

on Oct. 25 2011 at 7:49 am
Smile-And-Wave-Boys. SILVER, Rotherhithe, Other
8 articles 1 photo 38 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Everyone wants to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down."
— Oprah Winfrey

That was to CaeCae97, meant to reply to her comment :/ :P