I hate the word "conform"

It makes me cringe. When you look it up in the Thesaurus, it gives you words such as comply, accomodate, fit. Those words don't really describe me... and to be honest, I don't want them to be my son either. I want him to be an individual. I want him to think for himself. I want him to feel comfortable enough with who he is to be different. I'm not sure how you do this. I wonder what my parents did to give me a high enough self esteem, that I don't feel the need to conform.

I can admit when I do something wrong, without feeling like I've failed myself. I can admit when I don't know something, without feeling stupid. This is not to say that I'm not insecure in my own way, but I don't feel a need to be accepted by others.

I don't know if this is unique to myself... or if there is something my parents did to help shape it. It's hard to say... my brother passed before I had a chance to ask him and Curtis has his own unique challenges. If I could ask anything for Curtis is would be for him to love himself as much as his family and friends do. And this is what I want for my kids. I want them to love themselves as much as Kasey and I do. I love their successes and I love their failures because they are helping to shape who they are.

And all I ask of them is to not conform. I hope that Robbie has enough confidence to do what feels right to him. I hope he doesn't feel the need to "fit", "accomodate" or "comply". It's the people that are brave enough to look outside the box that are helping change the world.