Acceptance plays completely different roles in certain times of peoples' lives. Many people fear never being accepted, others know they are going to be accepted and some people spend their whole lives searching for it. I will narrow down acceptance into two parts, acceptance in high-school, and acceptance in college.
In high-school everyone's biggest fear is being accepted by a group, having those core group of individuals that they plan on being "best friends forever" with. If you have ever noticed what makes people friends in high-school it's very surface level. It's what they have in a common. This is why you always hear about the high-school stereotypes of jock, geeks, cheerleaders, the band crew etc. Although these stereotypes are blown out of proportion, to a point they have some truth behind them. The reason why these stereotypes are so accurate is because, like mentioned earlier, friends in high school are friends because of what they enjoy, whether it be sports, math, band or other activities. All these groups are great because you find a group of friends that have similar interest with you. Although there is a conflict with belonging to these groups. Just because you like band, doesn't mean you like to do the same things as all the other kids who like band, doesn't mean you think the same as the other band kids. With these groups being formed, people are scared to have friends in other groups because they don't want to be unaccepted by their one group, which makes people conform to be what their group is. This means students in high school become someone that they are not. They gain the values of their group they belong to because they want to fit in. If that group drinks, or smokes most people in high school do not have the confidence to not do the same things as their friends. People become bullies if their friends are bullies, people stoop caring about school if their friends do, and this causes a huge identity crisis at an early age for teenagers. What they need to start realizing is that with confidence, true friends will accept you for who you are. (Yes, I know that was a bit to cliche but it is also true) After high school comes college.
College is a completely different socially accepting crowd then high-school is. In college, students are not only accepted for their similarities, but also their differences. In college, their are so many groups and organizations that people can join who have similar moral and value interest. Like high school, most people meet because of a common interest, but in college, people become friends after finding a similarity by accepting each others differences. For example, if your best friend in high school drinks alcohol but you don't, there is going to be a barrier between the friendship where as in college if your best friend doesn't drink, then you accept them for that instead of judging them. Don't get me wrong, college isn't a judge free zone, but it is however an easier place to meet friends who have the same values in college.
In high school and being a teenager, many people lose sight of their values, of their morals. In college, once students understand they are not being judged on their differences, try to find their identity again. College is about finding yourself after high school was about conforming to find friends who had a surface level connection with you. Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone, in high school and in college. Being confident in your morals will not only make you a stronger individual but it will also make you more confident and happy with the person you are today. Stand up for what you believe in, and stay true to the things you believe in. When other people start seeing you as a strong individual with values, that's when you are respected for who you are and your differences. Always except people for their differences, because it's the differences that make us diverse and unique, not our similarities.
-Raboin
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