ngdawg

I don't think any can be inherently or absolutely positive or negative. Rebellion to what degree, for example? Not wearing red on Valentine's Day (I always hated those types of things) or total rebellion against authority?
A degree of conformity is needed in the business world and academia; on the other hand, working in an office of grey-suited, metal rimmed eyeglass wearing people would probably cause some insanity to set in.

As someone who was always pointed out for being 'different', it's a mental tug of war in many ways of wanting to remain unique going against the desire to be as 'beautiful' or as 'talented' as those around me. And I find that when in one place too long, the 'uniqueness' begins to grate on some, when in the beginning, it was an attribute.
But who or what am I different from? Why are some people labelled 'weird'? And many times by those who could be considered equally 'weird' or different.
The struggle to find uniqueness from the masses is probably inherent to most of us. The problem lies in media telling us what's different, and us buying into that formula because we're only given so many choices to show our 'uniqueness'. I kind of like my daughter's take on it-buy the stuff that's there, take it home, and creatively destroy it to match our vision(I've done it with my car). From sneakers to jeans to tshirts to cars, taking what is offered and making it uniquely our own is a good way to start.

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Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either of'em.