Don't be like the rest of them, dear

When I was a teenager, I went to a teen church retreat. The theme was about not conforming to what other teens (the bad ones) do.

"Everybody's doing it. Join usssss."

But as I sat at this retreat filled with loud songs about Jesus' love, I realized that I had been pressured into attending this Lame Weekend of Loudness by other teens (the good ones), which was exactly what I was being told not to do."I'm soooo excited. It will be so uplifting. Oh my goodness. Want a hug?"  When I returned from this retreat, I accepted that I'm not like them (the good ones) and I'm not like the other ones either (the bad ones).

With time, I noticed that most of the so-called bad ones turned out to be some of the more interesting good ones, and a lot of those good ones turned out to be miserable.

So there you go.

Don't be like any of them, dear.