Cliques are everywhere. They are an inevitable part of human nature. We are wired to be attracted to those who share similar interests, beliefs and thought processes. We want to accepted by a group of peers who will view us as equal.
Yet, many times, this makes us fall victim to many vices like prejudice and judgmental attitudes towards those who are not in our in-group. It can create scenarios for belligerent situations. Prejudice and shunning of other groups or individuals (whatever type it may be) are also bound to happen at times, the degree of it varying depending on the situation.
Sadly, this results in people getting their feelings hurt, avoidable violence, and even missed opportunities to get to know someone who could become one of your best friends. Our behavior is dictated by the ones around us. Whether we shape ourselves to blend in with the crowd or we try our best to the one that goes against the flow, it's all due to what we assume people expect out of us (or what we want people to expect out of us). We confine ourselves between the walls of our coterie, our own little exclusive club of friends. This makes us fall victim to the stereotype threat and, at times, the bystander effect.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that having friends is bad and I know that being in a "group" is pretty much unavoidable, yet we must look past that. We mustn't enclose ourselves to only hanging out with a certain 'group'. Instead, we must look past the sociocultural expectations of the people around us and break that mold of uncomfortable awkwardness that surrounds being outside one's zone of comfort. We must look past our veil ignorance and start to show respect and love to others that may need it. We can still have our 'group' of friends and take part in activities with others that may share OTHER similar interests that we may have but that aren't as talked about in the other group.
The point in this is that you shouldn't imprison yourself within the boundaries of your own little 'group', 'family', 'denomination' or whatever you may want to call it. We shouldn't shun people who want to join in and partake in the activities we tend to do with our group of friends. Instead, we should by the ones to reach out and lend a hand, even if it's just smiling at someone who's walking past you in the hallway, because in truth, love wins.
