I started to think about this deeply. Why should I exist if others are like me? For example, I am an avid car enthusiast, but there are others like me. I am not the only American that knows about Skoda, Peugeot, and Citroen (for Europeans reading this: it’s a big deal because those brands don’t sell cars in the US). I am not the only lover of hip hop music. I am not the only person that likes Mediterranean food. I am not the only one who likes working out. I am not the only one that has refused to wear piercings. I am not the only person who is courteous to everyone. If there are others like me, why should I even be living? I have pondered about this question because my motivation, growing up, was to maintain my illusion of my individuality. I played a sport that was not popular among my family and relatives. I am the only car enthusiast among my neighborhood and relatives. I tried to find music that my friends and family had never listened to. This illusion allowed me to challenge myself and distinguish myself from my cousins. However, as a university student, I have started to question my existence as an individual. How do you all deal with this feeling?
BTW: I am not suicidal. I will only die when my heart gives out. I have made it rule to never engage in self-harm.
Comments
My cats can’t open their cans by themselves…
Existence doesn’t have to be justified.
It just is.
We just are.
Well, the type of similarities you listed are very poorly encompassing of all there is to a person. A person may be an expert on cars but the specific way the neurons connect in their brain when they think about cars, the reason they are interested in cars, the memories they have of cars, even to the way they view the saturation of different colored cars will always be radically different because it’s vanishingly unlikely two people who are similar in these exact same ways will be born. Saying that two people who know the same facts about cars are functionally the same is just wrong because you are imposing your own cultural beliefs of what it means to be an expert on cars (which itself is an entirely made up notion not existing materially).
idk i never really thought about this. i like me though, and while there are others similar to me, nobody can completely replace me even if they come close. because i have people who care about me, and they wouldn’t accept any substitute for me.
i know they say not to live for others, so for another outlook, i also just like who i am, and i have even learned to embrace following trends or doing things that aren’t special. rather than feeling like im replaceable, i get to experience knowing i will find community in others like me. i live not because i think im the only person like me to ever exist, but because i can still experience the joys of life and bring things to this world that maybe others like me never would’ve done. i will say things nobody has ever said. i will have experiences that will never be able to be completely replicated because they were experienced by me at just the right time. i am not entirely unique, but as corny as it sounds, im the only me out there, and there will never be another me no matter how close they get because they will never meet the same people, have the same conversations, etc.
Why do I need to justify myself
I just exist, that’s it
you could meet 100 people who love cars, nd music but none of them will love those things in exactly the way u do , its like ure not just a hip hop fan you’re you, who maybe connects with certain artists or lyrics because they helped you through stuff other people didn’t see
just as none of us are truly unique in our experiences, none of us are the exact same as everyone else. you, like everyone else, have a mixture of things that make you yourself. but the point of life isn’t to be as unique as possible, and there is no reason that you have to be. the point of life is to live and do what you like and want to do, and there is nothing wrong with enjoying the same things someone else does. having things in common with others means we can find community, relatability.
as someone who, in the past, has strove for being very unique, i feel like my mental state and relationships improved when i allowed myself to just be. to be like others, to like that thing everyone else likes, to agree with that common opinion. you can only be you. no one, including yourself, benefits from trying to be as unique as possible.
You’re here because of somebody else’s actions. Your right to living is based on that, not what you can give the world. Your interests give you personality, and something to bond with other humans over, rather than a need for one person with each skill or hobby. It’s normal to have this feeling when you get to Uni; the classic realisation, now that you’re with like minded people who share your interests and skills, that those things aren’t what make you interesting. Regardless, any one individuals’ perspective is valuable. But it isn’t your purpose.