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October 27, 2019: Dare to be Different

adjective: normal

Learn to pronounce:nor·mal

/ˈnôrməl/

1. 1. conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected.

“If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.” – Maya Angelou

In a world that too often demands conformity, it is a lifelong challenge to remain true to who you are.  From early childhood, we are victims of stereotypes which are designed to keep us in narrowly defined categories of what a girl/boy/woman/man should be like. Add cultural, family and societal expectations to  the power of peer pressure, and you have additional barriers which make it even more of a challenge to listen or follow your own inner voice.

For many, the pressure to conform and be “normal” begins even before adolescence, where to be different can invite bullying, ridicule and isolation. It is often simpler to flow with the tide and suppress our individuality. 

“Take care not to listen to anyone who tells you what you can and can’t be in life.” – Meg Medina

• While teaching, I once had girls in my second grade classroom inform me that I was not a “girly girl”.  I asked them what they meant.  They informed me that because I loved nature and science, wasn’t afraid of frogs or spiders and didn’t mind getting dirty, I wasn’t one. But as we talked they acknowledged that I also wore jewelry, loved clothes and cried at sad movies and stories. I told them that as “girls”, we didn’t have to listen to these defined limitations to hold us back.  It saddened me that seven-year-olds already had preconceived ideas about what it meant to be a girl.

“To be nobody but yourself in a world doing its best to make you everybody else, means to fight the hardest battle any human can ever fight and never stop fighting.” – E. E. Cummings

As we mature, these expectations of what is “normal” expand to choices we make in regards to all aspects of our lives; from the clothes we wear and homes we choose to the life partners we have and our work.  It is a complicated process to sort through all the messages we receive daily to find out what our heart really is telling us. 

“The things that make me different are the things that make me.” – Winnie The Pooh

But our gift of precious life is the very same uniqueness which sets us apart from others.  Our feelings. personality, style talents and thoughts are like our unique fingerprints which touch our lives and others with the choices we make.

Learning to first celebrate, embrace and support our own uniqueness is not a selfish act. Once we’ve learned to love the incredible being who we are, we can develop appreciation, acceptance and tolerance for others, something which is greatly needed in today’s troubled world.    

I found some wonderful quotes on the gifts of being different.  If you have any others to add to this collection, please share them in the comments below.

“By being yourself you put something wonderful in the world that was not there before.” – Edwin Elliott

“The person who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The person who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever seen before.” – Albert Einstein

“We must never be afraid to be a sign of contradiction for the world.” – Mother Teresa

“Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” – John F. Kennedy

“I am different.  Not less.” – Temple Grandin

“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” – Henry David Thoreau

“Be yourself.  Everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde

“Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.” – Coco Chanel

“Being different isn’t a bad thing. It means you’re brave enough to be yourself.” – Luna Lovegood

35 Inspiring Quotes for Kids About Being Different and Being Yourself