the emo bug is contagious

How to be accepted without losing yourself?
People keep saying do not conform to others if it means losing yourself.
It's okay to be yourself.
Why change to be accepted?
You are who you are.
Then why can't those people accept others for who they are?

I'm pretty adamant, scratch that, I WAS adamant about not changing myself to conform to others.
But I find that it's a tough road because the more I try to stay true to myself, the more I find myself drifting away from society.
And that leaves me to start questioning myself, my attitude, my principals, my standing in life, the way I handle things and whatnot.
Then I'll start trying to please others in order to get into their good book, in order to get back into the "society", to be accepted.
That's when I find myself disappearing bits by bits.

It's disgusting. It's horrible. It's scary.
I am strong, that's my facade.
What choice do I have left?
Cry and runaway?
But having a strong front does not mean that I am bullet-proof.
There are tiring times too.
I am not brought up to be strong.
It's under these conditions that I find the need to be "strong".
It's tiring to be constantly trying and trying but in the end, it's a dead end.
It's tiring to constantly trying to keep everyone happy but in the end, not only the effort is not appreciated, but everything that I try to protect is ruined.

They have the confidence to say why change to conform to the norm?
Easy.
Why can't you accept me for who I am?
Somewhat pessimistic. Calculative. Short-tempered. Introvert. Coward. Egoistic. Fat. Sarcastic. Dry sense of humor. Racist. Paradoxical. Foul-mouthed.

"Sometimes it sucks being strong. Because when people know that you are strong, they think that it is okay to hurt you, over and over again." - Anonymous