Against the Current
Navigating authenticity in a world of imitation.
It’s Sunday morning, the sky is a brilliant blue, and the winter Sun beams over the city. I’ve retreated to my fortress - my heated bedroom. Music plays softly from my speaker. My journal rests beneath my chin, pen poised in hand. The blank pages lie in anticipation of the thoughts that will soon fill them, though I have a vague idea.
Two recent events, combined with a long-standing reflection on our digital world have inspired today’s post.
Authenticity has been on my mind for a while now. People are starving for it and willing to consume and purchase anything that offers even a semblance of realness. In a world overrun by the fabricated and profoundly fake, some are buying raw milk from Amish farms, seeking to reclaim a sense of control and connection to something genuine. I’ve come to believe the essence of authenticity lies in not even being aware of its presence. Akin to a child: raw, unfiltered, entirely oneself, untouched by external influences.
This idea crystallized further after my grandfather’s passing and a recent lunch with one of my lifelong best friends.
In the wake of his passing, countless people shared deeply personal stories about him - all touching, kind, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, similar. Each story reinforced the love I feel for him and his ability to have remained true to himself throughout his life. His uniqueness and genuineness touched so many lives - qualities that feel increasingly rare today.
After lunch with my friend, I reflected on how, despite time, distance, and life’s twists and turns, we had started yet another new year together. Our bond endures because we’ve never pretended to be anything other than ourselves with each other. This reaffirmed something I’ve always believed: that things of quality have no fear of time and that what is in alignment with you will always remain close. The most powerful frequency you can emanate is your own, drawing to you what is meant to be.
In a world overtaken by algorithms eager to conform us, maintaining a sense of self has never been more urgent. Uniqueness cannot be imitated, fabricated, or replaced. Social media, though an incredible tool for self-discovery, is dominated by trends designed to go viral and encourage sameness. These trends spawn countless copies of the same individuals, blurring the lines of originality. Pursuing hobbies, sitting with oneself, wandering, and using technology to expand rather than narrow your identity are all ways to nurture individuality. Go down a rabbit hole of an artist or genre you’re unfamiliar with. The art world, in all its visual and musical glory, is at your fingertips - harness it.
Conformity, an all-threatening disease, is on the rise. When everything and everyone becomes alike, where does one look for inspiration? Creativity, the very source of human evolution and progress, thrives on uniqueness.
AI is no longer surging - it’s here, embedded in our world. Far from critiquing it (am an avid user), I urge you to remember why humanity has come so far: our ability to evolve and innovate through creative forces. Robots can assist, but they cannot replicate the raw, untethered spark of human ingenuity.
Find what makes you feel alive and carry it with you everywhere. Bask in it. Radiate with your individuality.
(I do not own the rights to the images, but the curation and layout of this mood board are my original work.)