Trends

Sticking with this topic of "What comes around"; is a related topic of trends. Trends make the world go around.  Whatever is trending at any given time will tell you where the money is, and maybe where the money will be later. Almost everyone follows trends every day, even if they "don't want to". There isn't much choice sometimes. New clothes are a trend; but you can pick if you want to go with that trend, or stay with your own. New cars are a trend. They will market what will sell to the newest generation of buyers. Car styles always change, but again, you can go with it, or stick to your own. Mocha Latte's are a trend. Buying expensive coffee made with all kinds of flavors and additives are a trend. But, once again, you can go with it, or stick with the brewed coffee in a pot or machine that you grew up with. There are many trends out there that the public can choose to follow, or stick with their own generation stuff. It's nice, tho, to have a choice.
Some trends take away your choices. Some things are not really trends, but a complete takeover of a certain area. A simple example of this would be food products or drinks. When they make something new, the old product is, many times, discarded; rendered obsolete. The choice is gone. If Coca-Cola decides they want to put their product in newly designed plastic bottles, and they replace the existing ones, then the choice is gone. I'm not picking on Coca-Cola, because they are a favorite of mine (Yes, I drink too much soda! Sue me!). Sometimes this is no problem at all, as the "new" product is much better than the "old" one. It should be. But many companies try too hard to start a new trend, change the old product that was always, and still is, very successful. They shoot themselves in the foot.
Many trends are started by "having to change" a product. An example would be that they find out that a certain ingredient or additive in some products can cause cancer. They didn't know this before.  The FDA may say that this ingredient must be immediately removed, or replaced.  Well, it is usually replaced. When you change or add a new substance, it can alter the taste of the product, or it may not. It may be that the "new" taste is an improvement.  Many people who did not like it before, may suddenly like it alot. Or they may "hate" the new taste and stop buying that product. These are both trends. But the public will learn of this new ingredient; learn about how healthy it may be for them, or how unhealthy it is, and "boom!, a new trend is started again.
You can see where I'm going with this. Trends are an easy thing to start. Many times they start by themselves, without even meaning to. Sometimes it is a forced change.
One obvious trend is fashion. You see somebody wearing a really cool shirt (in your opinion). You want to have one, because you just know it will look good on you. You wonder where he got it. You hit the internet looking for it. There's a hit on that website; then another, then another, because people want to see what others are looking at. All of a sudden, that shirt is in large demand.  A trend has started.  And you may be the one that started it. It is exactly what the fashion world counts on. Something that will catch your eye, and be spread around.
The only funny thing to me are the people who publicly say that they want to be different. They don't want to be categorized. They want to be unique. They long to be different than anyone else. They work hard at it. Many want to be known as the person who "starts" new trends. Yes, it can be done. It is done every day.  But here is the kicker! You cannot get away from trends that already exist, no matter how hard you try. You will always be caught wearing, or riding in, or drinking a trend that has already happened before you came along.  It's a fact of life!