Becoming an individual is a much stranger process than it used to be. Think of the majority of the 20th century, when you had to watch the T.V for much of your foreign inspiration. During this time, global fashion and culture wasn't a click away. You had to really work for your foreign education, and even then, you got the kind of censored foreign education that your country bound you to. It wouldn't be wrong to say that you were more bound to your country, and therefore, more likely to be a patriot in the past.
Now with the advent of the internet, if you're a little clever, you can download foreign culture with a click of a button. It is more affordable to travel the world, easier to learn different languages, and therefore, big cities are more likely to be less homogenized with regards to culture.
You go to Los Angeles now, and you see a myriad of people with different fashion styles, different books on their hands, and different expressions on their faces. Even if you walk by a street that's all white, it's likely you will see some noticeable difference. It's hard to define it has Californian or American anymore, because the world is so connected.
In this environment, finding yourself is a problem of vastness, so to speak. Everywhere you look, you see influence. It's hard when you're young not to try to absorb it all, a little bit of everything.
But to see what works for you is tougher than that, it's more of an internal process. I would argue that it's not about associating with the imagery that appeals to you, but rather, associating with imagery that challenges you. This is not to say you should go out of your way to be a contrarian just for the sake of it. But in order to see the world as close to holistically as possible, you have to become accustomed to feeling uncomfortable and having your worldview in danger.
When you are selectively choosing symbols that are appealing, you are creating a world for yourself that is narrow and limited. When you are not afraid of looking for dichotomy, then you begin to find conflict, and see, from an outsider's view, of what is based on dogma and what is based on reality.
In addition to that, if what are you looking for is opinion based, you will have a good framework for appreciating more art if you keep an open mind.
In this way, instead of looking from the inside outwards, you will start seeing the world by looking inwards. The outer conflicts of the world are always processed internally, and this is useful because you will not like something automatically, for it's aesthetic. You will know why you like something, and this will make you more of an individual.
When you are young, you should always embrace change, but simultaneously you should question it. If you notice your taste in music and people are changing, fight it. See what value it has to offer. Don't toss away your old self and blame it on the fact that you grew. Really understand it, because there may have been some parts of yourself that you would've liked to keep.
Heraclitus once said "you can never walk into the same river twice," and that phrase has stuck with me for a long time. What he meant was that people, like water, are never exactly the same. To see your father today, and to have seen him yesterday, they are different people.
By that same standard, we should strive to be a fluid essence of a person. In other words, the individual should have a basis, but it should not be closed off to external change. Think of it this way. An idea you automatically reject has the potential to make you a better person.
All you have to do is to allow it to.