I can certainly relate to being a misfit; perhaps ever since about age 5-6 becoming consciously aware that the way people thought just didn't make sense to me.

For a while (around 2001-03) I even had a blog named "The Misfit Chronicles."

I grew up in Denmark where — although by no means as strictly as the former USSR — conformity was considered a virtue. We lived in the shadow of the Jante Law which might have been "voluntary" but was often enforced by social pressures. "We have all these benefits and a good life because everyone conforms to the rules before thinking of themselves."

Whereas I harbor no particular desires to be a ragingly flamboyant in-your-face weirdo, I like the freedom to walk my own path... and I tend to be more self-referencing than other-referencing. I really don't care what everyone else is doing, anymore...