Hello, Everyone! Hope you are having a happy hump-day on this wonderful Wednesday! Today’s post might be more of a rant than a traditional blog post. It’s necessary though, and I hope it inspires you in some way, shape or form!

Normal vs. Weird

We are living in strange times people, where weird is good, and normal is bad. If you’re too normal, then you’re mainstream. If you aren’t quirky, then people don’t want to bother with you. If you’re not different enough, then you’re not interesting at all. BUT if you’re too different, then people shy away from you. Be weird, but not too weird is basically what the world is teaching us right now. WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?

When I first had the idea to make this post, I had to stop myself and remind my self that yes, this is a thing. This is a real thing that is happening right now. Our youth are affected, our college kids are affected. Heck, even we (the adults) are affected!  

But why? Why are we all trying so hard to be different? Right…. It’s because a few years ago, everyone was telling us to stop trying to be like everyone else. So we started saying  things like, “Oh I do pageants, but I’m not like a pageant girl.”Then, people started realizing that all pageant girls say that, and BAM, we’re all the same again…

For a short time, we accomplished being different, but now we are all a super weird version of ourselves. We aren’t just different, we’re weirldy not even ourselves anymore. Like, not every hipster is actually hipster. And what is hipster even? Is it a style of dress? A lifestyle? A coffee craze? What is classic anymore? A simple white t-shirt? A dress, a “basic” outfit? Our world is so complicated and confusing right now, especially in the societal rules of self-expression.

The reason for my rant/post is this: I am watching so many people around me become weird/awkward versions of themselves in an effort to be authentic. They are working so desperately to stand out, that they are losing themselves. Don’t think I’m untouched by this either… I’ve so fallen victim to the attempt of being different but not too different, and the crazy thing is that I was already different enough before trying. The problem: Everyone told us to be different from the crowd. (This is a good idea, in theory.) However, people have taken this to such an extreme, that instead of being different in an authentic way, they are being different in a fake/weird/trendy way. We should be encouraging people to be themselves, not different.

FYI I’m not hating on you if you’re naturally quirky and cute. I love it. I’m not even hating on you if you’re trying too hard right now. I’m honestly just trying to put this whole “be different” thing back into perspective, where it belongs. 

Do not be different at the cost of losing yourself. Be your pure and authentic self, and if that isn’t different enough for them, then SO WHAT? It’s not important that you are totally different from everyone else. It’s important that you are perfectly fine being yourself. What I’m trying to say is wear what you want, eat what you want, talk how you want, and be who you are, not what someone else wants you to be. You’re already enough, just the way you are. It should take zero effort to be yourself, and if you find that’s not the case for you, then ask yourself why you’re working so hard to project the right image of You.

When you are being yourself, you don’t have to worry about pleasing others. You can focus on the things that really matter in your life like your friends, your career, your family, your hobbies, etc. Break free from the constant fear of meeting societal norms by being what everyone else tells you to be. We are currently all different carbon copies of weird. Let’s break that trend by going back to being our original, authentic (maybe weird) versions of ourselves.

Dont’ worry about standing out because now days,
authenticity is the rarest form of beauty.
Just be purely you, and they will notice you.

I love you guys, and I hope this speaks to you. Honestly, I mean no harm in saying any of this. I sincerely want you guys to feel free to express yourselves in your most authentic form. That’s what truly makes people beautiful – their pure identity regardless of how normal, weird, or different that is, it’s beauty at its finest.

– the Wife