[quote=Halo]I think the definition of normal has already been flogged to death in this thread, so I won't go there again.However, should someone try to be normal? That's more interesting.[/quote]

Being normal's boring though... :P

Seriously though just the wording there [u]try[/u] to be normal implies there's already something about you that is currently not letting you be normal. One of the thing's that's aided humanity so much is it's variance and flexibility, we have our soldiers, our scientists, our artists, our child care workers, our programmers, our teachers, our cooks, our doctors etc. And except in the rare case of drafting or only getting _______ job because your parents Intimidated you into it people tend to be happy in all these different fields. Our species cover's a vast array of skills and professions and excels in all of them.

Variance and difference although being one of humanity's greatest fears (any High School culture demonstrates that clearly) is also one of humanity's greatest allies and reasons for succeeding. There's also been a lot of effort/work done to change places like the education system to work with, help and encourage more minds of people and students rather than [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY]killing their creativity.[/url] By extension this also hold true from a social standpoint, accepting said differences academically but then condeming them social and telling them to do X and act like Y is going to have the same effect. People not seeing or reaching their full potential.

[quote=Halo]tl;dr: In principle, yes, be a non-conformist, as Derv and Protagonist outlined. However, in reality, sometimes principles have to be loosened to actually get the best and happiest outcome, because principles are black-and-white and reality is not.[/quote]

That's in order to get social acceptance and be liked by most people, not any actually growth or gain.

I'm honestly of the opinion that people simply need thicker skin and be able to handle the criticism and be who they want to be. No matter who you are you will get conflict and criticism, and to change the very person you are because you can't handle it might as well be calling defeat on life. 

It's not the people who are different who should change, it's those who are fearful of it. It's the people who outcast, discriminate and destroy the self-confidence of those who are different and unique that are bring us down and limiting our species potential, not those who are different.