Individuality

Something you may not know about me is that I like to read things on the back of cars. Whether it is a license plate frame, a window decal, or a bumper sticker, something just draws me to them in hopes of reading something funny, witty, and/or original. (Oddly enough, I am not drawn to writing done by window marker in the same way.)

Why am I drawn to them despite the fact that I rarely find something funny, witty, and/or original? I don't know. It is ridiculous. In fact, studies have shown that the chances of finding something satisfying posted on the rear of a car is 1-98. Whereas the odds of finding something that I will rant about because it is stupid, ugly, nonsensical, or unoriginal is about 1-7. And that the odds of me being utterly disappointed are about 10-1.

None the less, drawn I am.

Given this information, you can understand why earlier this semester as I walked across the parking lot at UVU, I took a detour at the sight of a window decal that took up the entire rear window of a car. Imagine my disappointment when I read:

"You all laugh at me because I am different...

But I laugh at you, because you're all the same."

Upon reading this I thought to myself, "Yeah, yeah, yeah... you're different, just like everyone else".

Several days later, I happened to walk by the same car again and something just didn't seem right. Then it struck me, "Wait a second! This is an advertisement of this person's individuality and uniqueness yet it features a massive Nike Swoosh?!?!"

"You all laugh at me because I am different...

[Huge Nike Swoosh goes here]

But I laugh at you, because you're all the same."

I'm sorry, Nike may be a lot of things, but as symbol of departing from the mainstream it is not. That is like saying, "I didn't want to be like every other Tom, Dick, and Harry so I went and saw this obscure movie... maybe you have heard of it - 'Avatar'?"

Nike:

The New Symbol of Individuality