Screw Conformity.

The world is not revolutionized by people who go with the flow. Humanity does not make advances due to people who are afraid to step outside social norms. Most of our most revolutionary thinkers were labeled as heretics, lunatics, nutcases. In their time, very few of them were regarded as the brilliant minds that we seem them as today.

Progress is made by deviations from daily life. It takes a strong mind to recognize, not just that something is wrong with our society, but to identify what it is. These minds stray away from the socially acceptable path, because they know, with complete certainty, that there is a better way to live. The great minds that brought us to the modern era were not restricted by "normal" thinking, they weren't restricted by society in any way. They did what they knew would better society, and they did it with or without approval.

That being said, sticking to social norms won't get you anywhere in life. You'll be stuck doing the "socially acceptable" things. That isn't necessarily bad, some people like that. Or, so they tell themselves. Very few actually enjoy such a life, and even less of them have the opportunity to find out. They convince themselves that this is the life they enjoy, and even if it isn't, it still works, because the alternative is so much more uncomfortable.

And it is. Going against social expectations is generally incredibly uncomfortable. It leaves most people alienated, and we all want to be accepted. But if we give in to society, are we really accepted? It isn't us they approve of, it's our sheepish ways, our forfeit to a "standard" life. By befriending everyone, by being loved by everyone in such a manner, you give yourself up in exchange for a fleeting comfort. Next time someone asks who you are, you won't really have an answer. Who are you? "Society. I am society." Society has no face. It has no hobbies, no interests, no goals or aspirations. It wasn't society that put man on the moon. It was a select group of individuals that were supported by society, just along for the ride. Society just waits for the next big thing to come along and blow their minds.

Don't conform. Don't try to fit in, don't do something cause it makes someone else happy. We define our own happiness, and it is our choice to watch that happiness suffocate under social oppression, or to say "to hell with society," and live a truly happy life. If someone else supplies this definition for you, you are already a slave to them. Nothing can come from anyone except yourself. You don't owe anyone anything, and no one and nothing owes you anything in return. All you owe is to yourself, to be yourself.

Don't accept anyone's ideals but your own. Don't live for anyone but yourself. Don't let anyone tell you that you're happy except you. Live this life, live your life, and you become the next revolution.