A weirdo and proud of it

[pjthompson]

Here's an interesting post from the Productive Flourishing blog about "Weirdo Syndrome." (Thanks to bummble for pointing me there.)

He makes some good points about how those things that sometimes make us feel like outsiders are actually our greatest strengths. It took me a long time to realize that I was glad I wasn't like Them, the Normals, and never would be. It doesn't always make it an easy road, especially growing up, but you can survive your teens and early twenties and grow to like that deviance. Treasure it, even.

The trick is knowing that different does not mean broken and useless. Oh yeah—and that thing he says about finding other weirdos to hang out with. Like I said, it took me a while to figure that one out. I'm glad I finally did.

Comments

[sollersuk.livejournal.com]

This relates somewhat to the resolution I made on my 60th birthday, and wished I had made many decades earlier: to give up pretending not to be scary.

[pjthompson]

lol--I've given up being Normal in any conventional sense.

[hominysnark.livejournal.com]

What tickled me is his comment about hanging out and talking about football and the weather, two subjects I happen to enjoy blathering on about.

[pjthompson]

I think that was from a "guy not into sports" perspective. :-) Being women who're into talking sports, I guess our equivalent would be...talking about shopping? Yeah, that'll put a film over my eyes quicker than you can say, "Sale!"

[hominysnark.livejournal.com]

Ah, good point. Yes, I absolutely loathe shopping, unless it's DVD shopping. :D

[pjthompson]

Well, natch. And book shopping.

[jandersoncoats.livejournal.com]

I guess I'm kind of lucky in that I realized about age 14 that I liked what I liked and it made me freakin odd and that was okay. I've never been conflicted about "normal" - I can't even remember a time when I wanted to fit in.

I got a lot of flak for being weird, and that bothered me, but it didn't make me want to change. It made me more defiantly weird. I figured, "They're going to make fun of me no matter what, so screw it, I'm going to do whatever the hell I want."

It's my personal mission to nurture the weird in my kid and his friends and any other kids I meet with a touch of weird in them. The world needs more weird.

[pjthompson]

Nurture the weird! Yes, by all means.

I wanted to fit in when I was junior high age, so you're indeed lucky you knew your own soul. I went for "class clown" for awhile thinking that making them laugh intentionally was better than being laughed at. I think I was in my twenties before I began to truly treasure my weird.

[lizziebelle.livejournal.com]

I stopped feeling like an outsider when I found the Pagan community. I still feel it a little bit at work, but it's not a bad feeling. I wouldn't want to be one of Them.

[pjthompson]

Never Them! Artists have always been my tribe, and art my refuge. Discovering alternate spirituality (paganism, yes, but a crazy mix of a lot of things) also helped. Reading Carl Jung helped. :-)

[geniusofevil.livejournal.com]

me too.

[pjthompson]

All the best people are. ;-)