My shoes are scuffed. My stockings are ripped. I resent nothing more than just going to a store of boring mass produced sweatshop labor created blandness. I like things to have evidence of wear. Some people may find my affinity for tattered clothing to be horrible; i could not care. I can be a bit of a social misfit and have learned quickly how to live my life disregarding the inevitable judgement of others. One of the most valuable tools I discovered for this, was confidence. Without confidence and a firm idea of who you are as a person, you struggle to remain strong. You will bend and break and conform to the environment around you. I have spent most of my life developing a sense of myself so I may be stronger than my environment and not let it define me. Fortunately or unfortunately, the things I discovered about myself and which built my character, were the exact things which further distanced myself from the mainstream world. In discovering my identity and my passions, I more or less secured my position as a voluntary loner and social gypsy. My words were different, my thoughts were different, my interests were different, my hobbies and passions were different, and I was different right down to the very obvious physical proclamation of my individuality: my wardrobe. But I like that. I consider my best assets to be the same things which got me a swift punch in the stomach every day. Society breeds us to be discriminating and to shun difference. I was raised differently; I was raised to revel in your differences. My nan always taught me to accept it as something which makes you superior, not inferior. Every glare bolsters my ego. I am doing something right if I am provoking such a strong response. I am doing even more right if I am not letting it affect me. People can taunt and tease all they want and it can hurt you; but it does not have to. Do the wounds have to be lasting ones that you carry like a burden? Of course not. Words are easy. But you can shrug them away. You can scoff at the bitter naysayers. You are stronger than that, and all of the unusual quirks you have acquired over the years can band together like a shield to protect you and remind you of how great you are. I hope that one day every person can find pride in the things they are told to be ashamed of. I hope that one day every person can feel comfortable enough to instead flaunt these things.