Are we ruled by rules?

Once upon a time, we didn’t bother with what people said or did. We had our own identity. We were totally unafraid. That was the best gift of youth. We made do and created our sense of fun. It was we who set the trends. It was we who decided what was ‘cool’ and what was not. We were the masters of our fate and the whole world stepped aside as we walked by. Then we had to grow up. We got our jobs and our promotions. We became part of the crowd and we lost our identity.
There was a ‘correct’ way of doing things and ‘rules’ had to be followed. Image became of paramount importance. The rules soon became a way of life – almost an obsession. If we did not follow the rules, we did not belong, we became outcasts.
The correctness of things meant knowing which cutlery to use at which time – which dress to use for which occasion. There was no two ways about it. We had to conform although we would have felt more comfortable in a t-shirt and jeans than in a cocktail dress. How many friendships were strained because a friend chose to launch into her ‘save the animals’ pitch during a party you were hosting. That very party which you were sure would impress the boss enough to consider you for the promotion.
How many romances were nipped in the bud because he just refused to wear a necktie to functions or she did not want to follow age-old traditions and please his mother.
I am not saying that ‘rules’ are not good. We need guidance, that is why the rules are there. But the rules should not restrict our individuality or force us to abandon our non-conformist friends.
Rules have a way of turning rigid and forcing us to abandon our identity as persons. Is that how we want to end up as – just another statistic, just another face in the crowd?