[...] I felt like people should do what they wanted to and not what other people would prefer. I've rethought this position over the years, though, and done an about-face. I realized that while every individual is basically forced into a relationship with himself (when you eat dinner in a restaurant by yourself, you're sort of going on a date with yourself), other people have the option to refuse. So it's other people you should be trying to impress. Being yourself can work if what you are happens to be something good, but if what you are is something lousy, then you should probably try to be something else.