What's a single word for a person who doesn't follow the crowd?


I'm looking for a word with a positive undertone to describe a teenager who does her own thing and doesn't cave in to peer pressure. Any suggestions? Thanks.


Question edited 1/30/16. Someone marked this question as a duplicate, but I think the other question is quite different from the one already posted. The other question is asking about a single word to describe someone who doesn't follow the crowd for the single purpose of being contrary. A contrary state of mind has nothing to do with what I'm looking for. I'm writing a recommendation for a teenager who is polite, independent, confident, and doesn't follow the crowd... NOT out of a sense of being different for the sake of being different, and not because she's ornery and contrary, but because she's her own person, and not swayed by what the other teens are doing. Can we re-open this discussion?



Answer



In one word "independent", in two "independent minded".


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