Individuality

Individuality is something that I cherish and regard as highly important in any person. Yet, the concept of individuality is quite often interpreted significantly differently by different folk, so perhaps it is important that I define it for myself. I regard individuality as the ability and inclination to think and act for oneself.

What sparked this thought thread is the idea of individualistic people. That is, people who are inclined to not follow the crowd, and be themselves. Some express this through dressing oddly (or otherwise differently) while others act differently. My question here is: Is this indeed individuality? Can one be an individual simply by dressing or acting differently? In my opinion, that answer is no. It is insufficient.

If one decides to dress in the manner of a subculture, like say for instance the goth subculture, one isn't necessarily being an individual. While rebelling against the mainstream by simply adopting the ways of a subculture, one isn't necessarily thinking or acting for oneself. It's simply a facade one puts on just to seem like an individual. One can undoubtedly choose to subscribe to a subculture for personal reasons, and that's perfectly fine. However, one can also appear perfectly average yet maintain individuality through being willing to think for oneself and act the part.

An example of this is say following a subculture's dress sense. It is one thing to do so, but it is entirely another if one's doing that without understanding the origins of that subculture or making any effort to inject one's own preferences into the gig. I strongly believe each person is an individual subculture, population one. It is not a matter of aping something else just to feel like one's a part of something, but more like going in as a participant, and then budding off as a wholly realized person. Such is the journey of discovery of life.