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Don’t Go Back to School Basic

Aug 19, 2021

It’s always good to have your own voice and use it. Sometimes we tend to keep to ourselves and follow the crowd, and these types of things would fall under basic behavior.

Basic? You might ask what is meant by that term or I’m sure you’ve heard it before. According to Urban Dictionary, being basic means that you are “only interested in things mainstream, popular and trending.” The word is also “used to describe someone devoid of defining characteristics that might make a person interesting, extraordinary, or just simply worth devoting time or attention to.” You could say that being basic is a little like being a wallflower.

Head back to school uniqueHead back to school unique

How Do You Know If You’re Basic

Being basic would mean that you don’t really tell your friends your true feelings. You sort of follow the leader a little bit and go with the majority. For example, if you wanted to stick up for someone being bullied, you wouldn’t. You wouldn’t do anything to draw attention to yourself. You wouldn’t break social norms or talk out of turn. You wouldn’t do anything considered “out there”, which doesn’t even necessarily mean that you’re being “out there”, but rather that you are being unique and eccentric.

Don't settle for basic when you can be extraordinary.Don't settle for basic when you can be extraordinary.

Being basic could also mean dressing the same as other people and not wearing anything that reflects personal style.

 Being basic can sometimes look as though you don’t have a mind of your own, when I’m sure that you do.

Your opinions and thoughts matter.Your opinions and thoughts matter.

Breaking Away from Basic

Everybody wants to fit in and most people want to be popular, but that should not come with risk. For example, you’ve seen the movie Mean Girls right? In the movie Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith are basic girls. They follow everything Regina George does and they don’t challenge her rules or even call her out when she breaks one of them. They keep their truth to themselves, even if a lot of Regina’s actions affect them negatively. Cady Heron is the opposite of basic because she was never truly loyal to Regina, plotted against her and challenged her. Cady went against the status-quo to promote individualism. Meaning its okay to be your true self and it is better to just be the real you with no guidelines from anyone else on how to act. The character Janis Ian from Mean Girls is an example of a girl who wasn’t afraid to do her own thing, even if she was betrayed by Regina George and holds some animosity, she still dresses how she wants and doesn’t try to mirror the popular girls.

It's good to be an individual.It's good to be an individual.

How to Beat Away the Basic

Don’t be afraid to be yourself and speak your mind. Wear whatever you want. If someone is being picked on and you want to stand up for them, do it. Don’t feel like you have to get lost in the crowd or go along with things that you don’t agree with. Show conviction. Show people your personality and that you aren’t just a follower. Show that you are an individual and have a mind of your own.

Take off the mask and just be you.Take off the mask and just be you.

Don’t be afraid to stand out or draw positive attention to yourself. You deserve to be yourself and not get caught up in the things you have to do to remain popular. If you disagree with something, let it be known. It’s understandable if you don’t want to rock the boat, but you can always pick your words wisely and be a hero. You don’t have to feel like your opinions or thoughts don’t matter because they do. Be friends with whoever you want to be. Those friends should be true and not ask you to conform to certain standards.

Take being called weird as a compliment.Take being called weird as a compliment.

Never let another person control or manipulate your actions. You are the boss of you. Don’t hold back or bite your tongue just be real, and dare to be different. It’s more than okay if you are different (no two people are identical) just as long as you feel like yourself and that you feel good about your choices and interactions at school. That’s the most important thing!

You're awesome and you should speak your mind.You're awesome and you should speak your mind.
Have your say

Have you ever been basic before? If yes, how so? Comment below.