Who the Heck are YOU?

In my last post I discussed some thoughts I have on feminism. What is feminism? Should I be a feminist? How can we express feminism in a positive way? I discovered that the word simply means that women and men deserve the same rights and opportunities as one another, and realized that I've believed this statement to be true for as long as I can remember.
There is a similar subject floating around in my mind that I'd like to address today; that is individuality. How do you live in the world today, with all the screaming opinions of others being hurled at you, and find who you are? We are surrounded by the social standards others put on our lives through the media, the educational system, and even the church. When you are being told constantly, everywhere you go, what you should do, how you should act, and who you should be, it's terribly difficult to actually learn who you are.

Media says I'm not skinny enough, society says women should have long, full hair, perfect skin, and a soft heart, the church says no tattoos or body piercings. I should always wake up early, work out, eat healthy, chase a formal education, look perfect, don't forget to take care of the earth!..and love my life. These are all good things but this way of thinking is so totally wrong.
I will never be happy or fulfill my purpose as long as I'm letting the rest of the world define what that purpose is. I believe this goes for everyone.
How do we stop letting others effect our choices?
There are two ways that I see others' opinions effecting me in my own life. One way is that I'll be exactly what they say I should be or do exactly what they say I should do. The other is that I'll do the exact opposite.
People love to be accepted. We love to feel loved, to know that others approve of us. Because of this it's easy to try to fit the molds we've been given. For years I tried to fit the "skinny" mold. I'd go days without eating, just drinking a ton of water and working hard at volleyball practice and conditioning. I've tried to fit the "smart" mold. I'd study my butt off doing multiple lessons of each subject in one day. I've tried to do the whole "tough" thing too. Acting like I know exactly what I'm doing, I've got it all under control, when my life was a splatter painting of chance. None of these things are who I am. None of these things made me happy. I listened to the ideas of others instead of myself.
I've always been a pretty rebellious kid. Even if rebelling means doing something I don't necessarily want to do, most of the time I'm going to do it. For instance, when I was 3 or 4 I used to have a little dog named Fireball. Fireball had dog food, dog food I wasn't allowed to eat. So what did I do? I ate it, duh! Not because I liked the way it tasted or enjoyed the stuff in any way, but I ate it. A lot. I remember my friend and I sneaking those little round pieces of who-knows-what and hiding under the back porch. We'd eat way too much of that crap, the whole time feeling so good cause we were feeling so bad. Sometimes when people try to tell you how you should live your life, it's easy to say "No way!" and do the opposite even if it's not what you really want.
So basically what I'm saying is this: DO YOU.
I know it's corny and probably been said a thousand times, but I also know that most of us still struggle with this. Heck I do. Quit worrying about social standards or what anyone else will think. Find what you like.
What do YOU want to do? What were YOU made for? Who the heck are YOU?
Then be that thing.