Everyone thinks they’re special in their own way, but being fabulously ‘different’ these days is really quite normal. I don’t know about you, but I have never met anyone who claims to be normal, although they all look pretty regular-like to me. Everyone claims to be different and special and unique and wonderful, but never normal. I mean, I know that I am weird, of course, but I’m different…really different.
I asked my counselor about this apparently complete lack of normal people in the world and why I was so weird, and he laughed. “Well, of course you are weird,” he said a little condescendingly-like. “You’ve got a completely unique blend of nucleotides and proteins in your DNA, so how could you possibly be anything other than different from the rest of us? You’re very weird, Dhiya, don’t worry,”
That was a comforting answer, but it smacked of waffling duplicity. He was being sarcastic, of course. I don’t like it when people welcome my weirdness. It’s not supposed to be welcome. It’s supposed to be, well, weird. Folk are suppose to look at me all strange-like, and give my talk a little more weight and presence a little more space, I being so different and all.
go figure!
Why is it that we are so afraid of seeming the same? I have always been afraid of being different, of standing out like a sore thumb. Oh, sure, sticking out because you have Hollywood good looks or the intellect of a whiz kid genius is great, but how many of us have those positive-like qualities? Nah, when you’re a girl in this town, you stick out because of other stuff too. You’re either too short or too fall, too fat or too thin, too smart or too dumb, too good or too bad.For me, the comfort zone has always been remarkable mediocrity, where I am not too much of anything. I am not a prissy lass, all moral-like and goody two-shoes, but neither am I debauched, wanton bitch. This is really comfortable place to be in. But friends rarely let you stay in the place for long. There’s always some new fad to try or some new attitude to have, so that you feel compelled to either go along with them and leave the comfort zone or stick out for not doing so. You are punished for choosing sameness over difference, even though that normalcy may actually be weird in itself.
Now, this is where things get all muddy-like. As far as I’m concerned, I like being weird. Unfortunately, I am not willing t be so weird so as to lose all my girlfriends. Certainly, no one’s likes to feel like a misfit. It is important to realize that we all need to be ourselves and feel as though we belong. But, what is the price of fitting in, and who is going to pay? Weirdness may cost you a friend or two, but comformity cost a lot more in the long run. Too many girls have discovered the price of being ashamed to be yourself…
Truly, weirdness is your personal style. Not only it is the unique blend of nucleotides and proteins in your DNA-like, but also the choices you make about your habits, your clothes, your friends and your life. Your personal style – cannot be forced or cajoled into being. It should come easy, as natural as breathing or eating. Yes, there are times when your personal style may be tested-like, and I’ll be the first to admit that at such times, it is so much easier to take the path of least resistance and to be what others want you to be.
However, if you are true to yourself, you will pass these tests. And, with every test you pass, you become even weirder. You will be as comfortable in your decision to stay fag-free and cocktail-free as you are to wear button-down shirts and miniskirts. You will define your weirdness. In the end, being weird is great but being you is even better.
- nur dhiya abdullah -
