In a world with over 8 billion people in it, there is no real one size fits all system. Fundamentally, everyone is different. Everyone has their own biases, past experiences, and is uniquely themselves, which makes it quite difficult for any form of system to apply to everyone in the same way. Yet, for whatever reason, humans find the need to create these systems, leading to the uneven treatment of people who need fundamentally different things.
One of the biggest “one size fits all” systems in our society is the education system. In my public elementary school, we had one teacher in our class of 26. Our teacher taught us everything from math, English, and even history. The curriculum designed for us 26 different kids, out of six different classes in our grade, out of the twelve different elementary schools in our school district, all learned math from the same math textbook, one that is probably also used in multiple other school districts. This system of learning assumes everyone learns in the same way, and out of the countless kids learning from this system, there is no chance that everyone processes things the same way. We are talking about the next generation of leaders in our society, and though they are getting an education, they are probably not getting the education they as an individual need. This has the potential to lead to social issues within schools, as children feel bad about themselves for not understanding things the way their friends might. At the end of the day, though it does make education widespread and easy to replicate, it is a lazy solution designed to mold everyone into the same shape. Compare this to individualized learning, which truly helps a person learn and grow in a way that fulfills their needs.
Another commonly seen “one size fits all” system exists in clothing and body image norms. Often you will see ads with models with “perfect” bodies, perpetuating the idea of an “ideal” body. Contrary to what these advertisements may say, everyone’s body type is uniquely theirs, and there is nothing wrong with that. These same big name brands mass produce the same sizes and styling of clothing for the countless different types of bodies people have, expecting everyone to have the same shoulder-to-hip ratio, or expecting for people’s feet to all be the same proportions. This is mentally dangerous for everyone, and creates unnecessary comparison that leads to unwanted emotions or feelings.
Fitness is incredibly important to me. Just the idea of bettering yourself through physical fitness seems so noble, and yet there is so much stigma surrounding it—especially within the bodybuilding community. People are constantly about being able to grow a certain amount of muscle, lose a certain amount of fat, or be able to have a certain amount of strength. Accepting our differences is what really matters. What may have worked for your friend to lose 20 pounds is probably not going to work the same for you, and that’s completely fine. As long as you are improving yourself, comparing yourself to others has no positive effect.
As individuals, everyone is unique, and it is important to recognize that we are different. One size does not fit all. So why not try to personalize things. That’s the reason why teachers are needed to assess each student and help them. Why tailors are needed to measure and create clothes perfectly fitting. Why physical trainers are crucial to improving and understanding how your body adapts to fitness. We are different, and that is one of the most beautiful things about humans. That’s why "one size fits all" systems can never beat humans helping one another.