In his article “Conformity/Non­conformity,” from the April issue, Ben D. describes the result of people's attempts to enjoy life more fully by living free from society's rules. He uses the punk and hippie movements as examples: both originally promoted individualism and freedom, but have become less meaningful over time. Instead of adopting these labels because they sincerely believe the philosophies, many dress like punks and hippies simply because everyone else is doing it, too. By trying to conform to these styles, though, teenagers are contradicting the movements' original purposes.

I agree with Ben that because of stereotyping and bias, these terms that were once so meaningful have become nothing but the names of clothing and music trends. I hope that people reading Ben's article will take the time to see his view on supposed “nonconformity,” and remember that ideals are more important than appearances. I thank Ben for putting into words something I'd never considered before.