7th Post: It's YOURS, not THEIRS!

Alright, i'm back. Apologies for the time lapse between posts, but life has been moving at a million miles an hour. New job, new roommate, but regardless, same R.I.C.O.. And that's the topic of today's column, staying true to you. Now a lot of people have a misconception of "keeping it real" and this eventually leads them to doing things that are, in all actuality, outside if their internal moral code. This could be anything from drinking when you know you usually wouldn't to (enter worse case scenario). Regardless, there is a VAST difference between staying true to yourself, and "keeping it real". One thing the people that constantly scream about "keeping it real" tend to forget is that the human being as an organism is ever-changing. From the time we are conceived to the time we die we are constantly changing, morphing,growing, shrinking, etc etc. So with this in mind, obviously the way we think is going to change over time is well. So if someone tells you that you're not staying true to yourself because you're not in the same mind frame you were 2-3 years ago, take it as a compliment. You've grown! Congratulations! There will be balloons!
Another thing people allow to dictate what is "them" and what is not is, unfortunately, other people. It's been this way for a loooooooooooooooong time (imitation is the sincerest form of flattery my ASS!). People tend to look to the crowd to find themselves and those that are shunned by the crowd are considered "weird" or "different" (or nowadays "underground" or "hip"). Honestly with all the groups and cliques in the world, if you can't fit in somewhere, well, thank god for the internet right? And to those of you that have a different mindset, possibly a positive one, that you think could be of some use, but nobody has your back, emotionally, or physically, guess what? A lot of people that started great revolutions were considered either "outside the norm" or if you really want to push it, "terrorists". I think my best example of this would be the Black Panther movement of the 1960's. Now here you have a group who is by all legal means justified in what they are doing. But not even the entire BLACK community could agree on whether they stood behind the panthers or not. And of course the masses considered them armed terrorists (which is why the FBI, CIA and COINTELPRO collectively oversaw the demolition and eventual media slander of these black power movements, but thats another post). But this did not stop the originators or their children from continuing the legacy and fighting for them same beliefs, despite obvious attacks and no support from the government. So you have to look at these things and realise that the masses aren't that smart. And the people that control them, do not have your best interest at hand. YOU have to have your best interest at hand.