When I was leaving school, way back in the dark recesses of time, we were each given a yearbook. It wasn’t one of those fancy shiny ones like my little sister got this year as she prepares to embark on the journey through university, but it is something that I have still kept and occasionally (when I’m having a massive overhaul of my hoarded goods!) it gets flicked through. Simultaneously to the yearbook being formed we were voted certain ranks or character statements by our peers, things like “the next president” or “most likely to be eaten by a shark”. I was very pleased with mine, and it is something that, as time goes on, I value more and more. I was named “the most individual individual”.
I’ve never been one who saw the attraction of crowds, either to follow or be a part of. I really am my own person. With all the riots across the English cities people have been heard to say: “Well, X, Y and Z were doing it, so A, B and C thought they could join in.” No individuality there. In fact the whole thing stank of a mindlessness, like a group of lemmings swarming without any concept of control or reason.
[In fact, one reason for the lack of blogs has been because I did not want to commence a rant about the riots. So I‘ll try and leave that there!]
It has been an eye-opener for all parties to see how even in this “civilised” age we still show all the signs of being pack animals. Peer pressure can drive forward - or in this case: pull back - so many things, and in many respects it is still one of the biggest causes of division, fuelling those horrible -ist words, like ageist, sexist, racist etc
I’m glad I broke the mould. I’m glad I stepped away from the rest and said that I did not want to do what everybody else did just because it is what everybody else did! Today, I spent a fantastic dinner at the house of some of my friends. It meant so much to me, firstly that they’d want to spend time with me, but secondly because if I had gone along with the rest of the crowd I would certainly not be doing what I am doing now. And I love my job… Have I mentioned that before?! When I was little I had a million ideas of what I was going to be when I grew up - who doesn’t? - but never once did I think I would be where I am now and doing the job I now do.
Funny how things turn out, isn’t it? I’ve just finished reading Philip Glenister’s “Things Ain’t What They Used To Be” (which is a brilliant book that I couldn’t put down without it having to be physically prised from my grip) and I can’t help but wonder, when he was talking about all these things that he did in his youth whether he ever thought he’d end up the massive cultural icon he is now. I think somewhere along the way (way, way back when I was very small), I decided that making plans did not work. It was fine to have ambition - admirable, even - but it was only by being my own person, an individual individual, that I would really find out what I should be doing in this world.
And what makes us individual? That’s easy, it is how individuals view us. I am not defined by how I view myself, nor by how I endeavour to portray myself. Ultimately, I am defined by how other people relate to me. Example: I am a teacher not because I qualified as one (although I did!) but because pupils come to me for lessons. I am a daughter, a sister, a granddaughter, a teacher and a friend, amongst other things. And it is only through you all, and your continued relating to me that I remain an individual individual, a title I hope never to give up!
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