Finding your place in society

Another important part of becoming a resilient person is deciding who you are and figuring out your place in society. You decide how you want to relate to other people by defining first who you are above everything else.

For example, if you decide to be a vegetarian, you've chosen much more than what you're going to eat. By being a vegetarian, you will have to relate to certain people as “a vegetarian.” Your parents might support you or disagree with you. You may start associating with other vegetarians to talk about the problems you've had, learning new vegetarian recipes, or finding vegetarian-friendly restaurants. You may even run into people who ridicule you for your choice or who don't understand it.

Every sort of label involves some sort of way of relating to other people. Some of these ways may be positive and you may find a lot of people like you. On the other hand, people may be prejudiced against you or dislike you without a good reason. This does not mean that you're wrong, or think about yourself differently. You should define yourself on your own terms, and not by relying on other people's expectations for you. Most importantly, you can find your place within society-a place where you belong. In doing so, you give yourself the strength to get through life.