There are a lot of things that this world doesn't understand. Of course, the first thought would be the vacuum of space, the depths of the ocean, how dreams work, et cetera, but what everyone seems to forget is the idea of their own community being the most in question. There is an admitted but unspoken truth that the one thing that humans are most afraid of is themselves. Each one knows that there is good and evil everywhere and their capabilities, but the question is who and what. As good ol' H.P. Lovecraft states, "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." The man was crazy but he had the right idea when it came to what we are truly scared of. Consider it cheesy, but there's not a doubt in my mind that the same fear exists in every living being with conscious thought and imagination. One would think since we "know" ourselves so well that we wouldn't be terrified by the idea of other human beings, but in truth there is ignorance. The fact war, crime, oppression, and ridicule exist backs up the idea that humans are more than capable of committing the worst. Society needed control from the concept of chaos, therefore some random guy from the stone age decided that everyone should act a certain way, passing it from generation to generation, but molding and stretching in accordance to the time period. Whatever was considered out of the box is a threat to the community. It's frustrating being so out of place in the world that instead of seeing yourself as the weird one, it's society that's the odd-one-out. Everyone runs like a machine, the same agenda every day. Do one task wrong or do not use the proper instructions then you just better start considering yourself scrap metal; no use to the factory of "social order." What's even more hypocritical is that there are those sappy motivational speeches and ads saying "Don't be afraid to be yourself!" everywhere but with an image of pure stereotype on what someone "should be and look like". It's a vile irony that makes me want to puke. In this world, everyone knows you've got to fit in a certain category or else you won't make it. They're all just afraid of taking one foot out of it because of the backlash or the idea that freedom would only bring chaos and disorder. For a species so full of different personalities, anatomy, and brain wiring, we are so obsessed with containing all those colors into one monochromatic scale.
I am Luz Noceda, your friendly neighborhood Dominican-American that might accidentally break your window from a game of baseball, but other than that a pretty decent human being compared to the assholes in school or pretty much anywhere. For a town called Gravesfield, everyone here is pretty damn average; I'm talking straight-out-of-the-mold kind of average. As one could probably tell, I don't exactly get along with the idea of stereotypes. Instead of trying to make myself pretty with chemical-filled paste that might eventually cause cancer, I'd rather have myself clad in baggy clothes and reading about terrifying monsters or epic journeys in a fantasy world. Even better, maybe explore some abandoned houses and take pictures of the broken-down antiques. Call me a coward for dissociating, but what else is there for me to do. It's not like the world has a necessity for me for anything anyways, so why should I care what it's doing or what it needs? All I care about is trying to spend my numbered days in this world my way and not by some dumb standard that everyone else is frantic about keeping up with. If there was a way I could get out of this dump, I'd trash it in a heartbeat. I'd be happy to go anywhere where there wasn't this stupid mentality that you have to be something to please everyone. Sadly it doesn't seem like that'll happen anytime soon, so the world will just have to deal with me.