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Laurus's avatar

This is brilliant. I share your sentiments exactly. (Especially as a highly-individualistic woman who happens to be an identical twin!)

One way I cope with the frustration of over-conformity (felt you on the dating apps) is finding beauty in the daily rituals of human life. That is, not things people anxiously do to fit in, but the tiny habits we share just by living together:

For example, that could be the fact that folks on the Staten Island Ferry constantly sleep across the benches in the same way with their backpacks as pillows—not because they saw other people do it, but because they're all tired from working. Or the fact that we all blew on game cartridges as kids to "fix" them because our friends told us it worked. There's a charm to human serendipity when there's a social aspect or common narrative experience. THAT kind of conformity, in contrast to the one you describe in your post, makes life more beautiful. :)

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Zenoushka's avatar

I love this Giselle - all of it! Thank you x

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