24. adaptations
there are a few ways you can interpret the word "adaptation". you can use it to talk about a book that has been adapted into a movie or tv show. you may use it when explaining how the biology of organisms changes over time to help them adapt to their environment. or you could discuss how we as humans change our nature as a result of internal/external influences.
guess which topic i'll be picking?
well, there are a lot of tv/film adaptations i could talk about. but for some reason, the first thing that comes to mind is the riverdale series, which i hate with an unquenchable, fiery passion. we needn't get into the reasons why. the point is, there's really not much to say about these sorts of adaptations aside from the fact that they often involve creative liberties and accompanying adjustments. and sometimes, creative liberty is taken a tad too far. like riverdale. grr!!
so how about biological adaptations? well now, that's a more interesting topic. there are tons of fun things to talk about!! the process of change, the pros/cons of metamorphosis, evolution vs. adaptation... possibilities are endless!! (just like how the og archie comics had an endless supply of good material that was unceremoniously yeeted out the window in favor of some trite murder-mystery-drama-fustercluck. grr!!) unfortunately, i'm just an astrology major. i don't know jack diddly squat about this area of science. haven't taken a bio class since high school. so, although it would be a terribly fascinating topic, i'm not exactly well-informed on it. and i always talk about things i've researched extensively!! right? i'm pretty sure i do...
that leaves us with the last option - social adaptation.
you might not think it at first, but this topic is actually pretty scary. there are plenty of unsettling buzzwords that go along with it, like "conformity", "group mentality", and "lack of self". spooky, eh? if these words don't make you uncomfortable in the slightest... you're either a psychologist or too far gone!!
just kidding. kind of.
have you ever gone to something that you didn't want to go to because your friends insisted that you would enjoy it? have you ever faked agreement with an opinion that you didn't agree with? have you ever copied the mannerisms or personality of someone that you want to get close to?
yeah, me too. weird, right? why would we go out of our way to do these things? what's the cause behind our actions?
short answer - beats me! though i may be an "ology" major, i'm an astr-ology major and not a psych-ology major. my best guess is that people just want to fit in. standing out or being excluded makes people feel unwanted, anxious, helpless... the whole range o' negative feels.
so the first course of action of most people is to adapt. buy from popular brands. go to events everyone else goes to. emulate the most successful/influential people they know. people will do or change anything to make them feel better about themselves.
admittedly, copying others isn't inherently bad. it's how we learn to talk as infants, how dancers learn new choreo (i think??), how new workers learn the workings of the workplace. but at some point, we gotta branch out and establish ourselves as individuals. otherwise we risk becoming a shadow of someone else, like one of those shadow-thingies in kingdom hearts (idk if that's an accurate reference, i don't play kh and it's far too late to start). and if we lose our connection to those someones... who are we?
makes ya think, doesn't it?
so, to what extent to i adapt to my environment? to be honest, i try to get away with adapting as little as possible. as mentioned in previous posts, i care a lot about fitting in even though i don't want to care about fitting in. i'm like a hipster, but a loser too - a loser-hipster!! i'm kinda used to it by now, though. as jughead says in riverdale, "in case you haven’t noticed, i'm weird. i’m a weirdo. i don't fit in. and i don't want to fit in". grr!!
in short! adaptation is weird, conformity is bad, and riverdale should be wiped from the face of the earth. thank you and good night.
No comments:
Post a Comment