All The World's a Stage

It is hard to grasp who we are and how we define ourselves sometimes. I like to think of myself as independent and not easily swayed by others opinions, but in reality there are many forces of which i am very ignorant of that persuade how I think. While reading my sociology - I find myself very intrigued by all the different ideas and realities that are presented to me. I sit here in awe of things which I have been so naive to in the past. I am wrestling with the fact that everything I am today is the product of what other people think and do. To a certain extent it is inevitable and unavoidable, however how many of us are content with the way things are. I am not. I like the idea of dependency on community and others, but not the idea that we feel like we must conform to all the norms. The norms I am referring to are these: emotions, humor, equality, status, roles and many more. Who defines these? and what gives them the right to do this? Why do people feel the need to conform to belong? is this wrong? I hate the idea of just going with the flow - it hasn't seemed to get us very far. It is also interesting as we look back on our lives and wonder what lies ahead. How many parts will we play in this world? What parts will we choose to play? Will they be leading characters? will they be parts that are remembered? Or will they be parts that have a role in the plot development and changes? Will we be in the background - hardly noticeable?
'




All the world's a stage
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts.
- William Shakespeare (As You Like It, act 2, scene 7)