Reality at a basic level, is the state of things as they actually exist; what we see, hear touch and feel. However, reality is really an individualistic concept, a perception of the world that is unique to every individual. As humans our reality is very often shaped by environmental factors, relationships with others and interaction with the world around us. It is inevitable that each individual’s reality will differ, no two people will see the world the exact same way. To an extent, shared experiences allow us to be shaped and alter our reality in the same way as one another. Nonetheless because of the unique individualistic power of human nature, all of us will see the world differently and thus, shared experiences do not mean people see things the same way. Inevitable subjectivity makes it certain that every person has their own individual reality. Emotions, wishes, needs, desires encompassed by humans are not tangible and are often very far from what is ‘real’. However, these things have a large impact of ones ‘reality’. These things make us unique and individual, different from our sister, brother, friends, the people who have shared many experiences with us. This is very evident in the case of crime scenes; witness accounts vary from person to person, despite supposedly seeing the same thing. Michael Leunig’s The Lot informs the reader that individuality should be celebrated, “my non conformity began to blossom.” This is also portrayed in quote from Alan Moore, “consciousness is unquantifiable, a ghost in the machine, barely considered real at all, though in a sense this flickering mosaic of awareness is the only true reality we can ever know.’ In this way, reality is internal and only subjective as yours is the only one you will ever know. No two humans can live the same life and as a result will ultimately see and perceive things differently.
Societies unavoidable expectations thrust upon humans can majorly influence ones realities. What is expected of us often leads us to see and perceive things in a certain way. This can mean by gender, age, race and so on. Michael Leunig shuns this mass conformism attitude of society, “oh to be mainstream.” The way in which the world operates today means that it is very difficult to break away from what is expected of us. People today see and perceive things according to what they are expected to. These socially acceptable and not acceptable behaviours are so innate that they have the ability to shape the way one views the world. Recent crime cases in America demonstrate this in an unfortunate way. Michael Brown, a teenager, lost his life at the hands of a policeman who shot him dead. This incident, caused significant debate, many members of the community outraged that this