Photo by  Patrick Hendry  on  Unsplash Life rewards us in mysterious ways. You "blend in" and get immediate results that amount to gratification and happiness. You may "Stand out" because you are a natural, but the world will question your worth.  "Standing up", is the real deal.  Just like fitting in, Standing up is also a choice... the tougher choice that we make to be true to ourselves. At first, it gives nothing back to us except fear, hate, and friction. But if we hang in there using this friction, we will start to see us as an evolved version of ourselves. We will be someone describable in a few good words. We will find our identity. Even in the literal sense, Friction is the force that opposes motion. But we know that it eventuall y   helps us. Without friction, we would touch but won't be able to feel, would draw but won't be able to leave the impressions of it, would try to climb but won't move upwards, would flow with the current but ...