We live in a conservative society, with its people blocking out the beauty of the world as a whole. This phenomenon creates gaps and makes many of us feel like misfits for having different tastes, being attracted to an outside culture, style of clothing, etc.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live comfortably in your own skin? Can you even imagine what it would be like if Romanians chose to take off their “horse glasses” and open their minds to new horizons and perspectives? 

Discrimination, caused by the absence and refusal of information, is an ongoing issue and of course, even if young age is one of the obstacles, people still get hurt in groups everywhere. Teenagers might feel the most affected, since adolescence is the time when they need to feel understood and validated more than ever. All this toxic behavior (that we have normalized as a society) does is create insecurity and overthinking, as young people do not know where it is safe to show their passions and their true self. We balance everything we say and it becomes mentally draining, doesn't it?

How does it manifest itself?

At school, at work, on a sidewalk or even in a shop, you begin to feel watched. The feeling that the way you dress is wrong burns within you, and the instinct to hide prevails. A blurred comment in the background followed by a laughter makes something snap inside of you. Fear makes its presence felt. The feeling that the pins on your bag/backpack reveal your preferences or music interests is also wrong, so you tend to remove those as well. Little by little, unconsciously, pushed by the others, you return to the "normal" state, and put on a mask. This is just a simple and pretty common example. Stereotypes play a huge role here and people usually get comfortable and choose to believe any rumor they perceive as credible.

Okay, but how does it affect us? "You can always wear headphones or dress a bit more normal."

While it is true that you can keep a low profile, no one is forced to, just because they feel society's pressure. Everyone is affected, whether it is about your taste in people, your political opinion, your music and clothing preferences, the cultures you are interested in or simply your moral values that you choose to live by,     

Finding it hard to accept someone else's point of view is common in Romania (for the majority of people). This results in becoming a big opportunity for bullies, for tyrant people convincing us to obey. Another example of people that aren't open-minded is the elders. They want to keep the traditions going and "teach" people how to behave and be disciplined. This leaves us unarmed, making us feel small because the self confidence, obviously, decreases.

I've heard teenagers complain many times. "So what if I enjoy listening to metal music, that means nothing. I get called a satanic daily, for no reason. It gradually becomes uncomfortable." or another classic example (from the person that judges this time): "Ewww, you listen to that emo music, Billie Eilish, what a horrible thing." Indeed, what a tragedy, for this to become the way our brains work and put people into categories. You are now considered a nerd for being into anime, but those people that put the label on you know nothing about the art and all the hard process behind it, so how come we all go along with whatever they choose, thinking it is probably the best? 

I asked a person that has reached the age of 18, so which is considered a young adult by the society: "What was the impact of Japanese culture for you?" and "How were you treated by the society when they found out your interest? What was the age range and did it matter?" And I think their answer really matters. 

"The Japanese culture had a huge impact on me, of course, a good one. It has significantly influenced my life in various ways. My interest in anime and manga began when I was 14. These shows not only entertained me, but also taught me valuable life lessons. One can say they are only <<cartoons>>, but if you look just a little deeper, you will find out that is not the case.

As I consumed these shows, my curiosity about Japan only grew bigger and bigger. I started documenting myself about everything that Japan is and has to offer, from its beautiful history, cuisine, and geographic standpoint, to its people, even learning the actual language, which is pretty difficult but really satisfying once you get the hang of it.

When my passion for Japan started, I was called names, some of them being <<weeb>> or <<weeaboo>>, mainly because of anime and people’s ignorance about what anime actually is. Some may have formed a bad opinion based on particular cases and information, which doesn’t apply to everyone watching anime. Some of these people were my friends. I had to learn how to live without caring what someone else thought about me. I knew that they were wrong and uninformed about the topics at hand. On the other hand, my family were really supportive, even helping me attend anime conventions. Some people don’t care about these interests, some share them and love talking about them, and some judge you because that’s just their stereotypical view." -V., 18

The main barrier is misinformation, which leads to a sad consequence: discrimination. 

So what do we do to prevent this?

Measures are taken daily in schools, but they don't really stick to people. Social media, as influenced as we get by it, can be used, and it would cover a bigger range of people. What we could also do is slowly integrate foreign elements and try out diverse "dishes"., as babies do when they learn something, Teaching people, raising awareness, these are the answers. Blocking out everything by refusing to even give it your time and normalizing being xenophobic should be out of question. We should make it clear that stereotypes are just unproven insignificant facts, that may or may not be true. A society can't live out these unstable words. 

We are all different, representing unique tastes and styles, we should just embrace the idea of being individuals who enjoy freely doing whatever makes us happy.