In 1955 a psychologist by the name of Asch conducted an experiment on conformity -- this defined as a change in a persons behavior due to real or imagined pressure from others. This got me to thinking.
I feel that all around me I see people -- classmates, friends, professors -- conforming to others around them. It makes me sad, and even I have fallen victim at one point or another. But this brings me to my point. In my Lit class, which my professor and section number will remain unnamed, I do not conform. At first I was upset, embarrassed, what have you, but the truth is, I feel sorry for the people in my class that feel I must be like them.
My problem? Reading out loud. Stupid I know. But the fact I get quite nervous when I read (only out loud!!) is not necessarily a flaw -- well, OK, maybe it is -- but I feel like it is part of my personality, a sort of trait if I may. I don't intend to try and fix it, of course I love to better myself everyday, but I feel it is something I need to learn to deal with. Why must I conform and try to be a great out-loud-reader just to prove that I can be like everyone else?
I know that I am very smart, Dean's list in fact, as well as an English major. What do I need to prove? Why do I need to conform to the standards of my classmates and conform to the people who say that "only extremely intelligent people can read well out loud." Einstein was unable to do so, and maybe dealing and excepting my nervousness is a bigger feat than changing myself to please others. I'm a writer, not an out-loud-reader, and I am proud.
