by Olivia Emisar

Created on: February 10, 2010   Last Updated: February 12, 2010

What is an unconventional lifestyle?  It all depends on gender, age, location and most importantly, the consensus of the majority around us.  For instance, social convention has long held the belief that a man will grow into adulthood with a certain set of skills that will allow him to make expensive plumbing and car fixing repairs at a fraction of the cost, thus saving his family money and being useful around the house. 

The above paragraph has made the following assumptions:  A man has the obligation to learn a set of skills, a man is married, and a man is the bread winner.  If this man finds himself being artistically inclined where he paints, dances, plays the violin and never touches a tool, lives with a partner/girlfriend and shares the costs associated with living independently, he has effectively defied conventional standards and leads an unconventional lifestyle. 

The same can be said for a woman who does not feel the need and hysterical urge to be married, raise a family and have a house with a backyard.  She does not cook because she has to, but does it only when she feels like it.  She does not date in hopes of meeting Mr. Right, but instead dates because she is sociable and enjoys meeting other people.  This woman lives alone and is lives within her means.  This woman has defied social convention and leads an unconventional lifestyle. 

What makes their lifestyle “unconventional” is the fact that they have chosen the way they live their lives and they are happy doing so.  A conventional lifestyle would make these people miserable by feeling restrained and trapped into a narrow set of guidelines that precludes them from expressing their individuality and following their dreams without restrictions. 

Guidelines are wonderful when we don’t know who we are and how we should live our lives, but as we get a better handle on knowing ourselves and liking ourselves the way we are, chances are that the guidelines will eventually become a frame of reference, a starting point of sorts that allows individuals to make the choices that would work best for them while contributing their own uniqueness to enrich our society and set new guidelines that eventually will become part of the norm of the many facets in our varied societies. 

Sexual orientation, independence, open-minded individuality, predisposition to artistic endeavors, curiosity and active exploration of the world around us, scientific curiosity or the need to find different ways of doing traditional things are all precursors to creating lifestyles that are out of the norm.  Having a great capacity for creativity and imagination is part and parcel of being human and re-inventing the wheel, creating a better mouse trap and re-arranging our lifestyles to better suit the times are just a natural progression to meeting our individual needs and an ever evolving society. 

What we consider conventional lifestyles today would have been considered outrageous and highly peculiar in our grandparent’s younger days.  Our societies do not remain stagnant, to do so would halt not only progressive and creative thinking, but would halt our natural evolution.  It stands to reason that lifestyles would change and become more diverse as we open our minds in exploration and find that there are other ways of living well and being happy that are better suited to our natural inclinations and endeavors, even if they are a step or two away from whatever it is called traditional in our present day.

Learn more about this author, Olivia Emisar.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.