Is Being An Outsider a Universal Experience?

             It is hard to say if every person on this earth has had an experience in being an outsider, in being left out. However, even if some haven't, I believe that the vast majority of people have had at least one encounter with the feeling.             From being ignored when members are called for a football team, to being bullied for small differences one may have to most, to simply not understanding something a number of people get; from the biggest of tormenting, to the smallest of exclusions, almost everyone has been an outsider to something at some point in their lives. Just look at the amount of movies, books, and other media on the subject. Even books that we've read for school - "Lord of the Flies'" Piggy, the Uglies in "Uglies", "To Kill a Mockingbird's" Tom Robinson - most, if not all, have had either an underlying or central theme related to people feeling like outsiders. With the sheer number of stories covering this topic, created for people of all ages, many likely relate to them in some way or another, from the readers to the writers.             This might not seem true for all people. What about those born into wealth? Surely they've never felt excluded from anything, with their large amounts of money. Well, for many, that can be the root of their troubles. Rich children might only be able to hang out with other rich children, either not being allowed to play with non-wealthy children, or those children simply not wanting to play with someone who they think is most likely a snooty rich kid. Even rich adults can feel like outsiders. In many cases, they feel as if their non-rich friends are only buddies with them for their money. This leads to them only having friends within the upper-class-circle, and feeling like outsiders elsewhere.             Almost everyone, from the young to the old, from the rich to the poor, has felt excluded from something at some point in their lives. Every type of person, no matter how close to society's "norm," has been an outsider from something. It's a good thing there are so many stories revolving around not fitting in; people can relate to them, and get empowered by them.