By Michelle Carr
It is funny how one simply made comment can affect a person so much. This time for me it was a comment made at my kid’s school. I take my little people to school every morning. Every morning, I walk my daughter down her hallway to help her situate her stuff before class. I often help the other children who are there as well, the children who know me as Mrs. Carr aka Alexis’s mommy. The children are usually very excited to see me and want to share all of their news with me. This news usually includes information regarding their birthdays, new pets or any new booboos that they have acquired. But this particular morning, while I stood in the locker area, I overheard one child tell another kid that they were weird. The second child, in response, looked slightly hurt and bothered by the comment. I, being quite the weirdo myself, quickly responded “Well I think it is awesome to be weird. I am totally weird and I love it when others are too.” The second child looked up at me and smiled. The first child then added quite quickly that they were weird too. And before I knew it, several of the kids were piping in on how weird they are. I mentally cheered for myself that I had turned the situation around.
But as I walked back to my car, the child’s comment continued to plague me. Why is it that being different (being weird) always seems to carry such a negative rapport? Why do people often view those who are weird or different with such fear? Make them feel badly for being not of the norm. What exactly is the reasoning behind that? Do we all really want to be the same cookie cutter type person? Is this our goal, to be just like everyone else? Well this girl screams HELL NO! I refuse to be! I love weird and find joy in being so myself. I have found that the people who are considered weird are the most interesting people to get to know. They are the ones who aren’t afraid to think outside the box or even run circles around it. They are usually the ones who create the best stories, art, music and other forms of entertainment. They are the ones who never see things as impossible, but see it as something that doesn’t have a solution yet. They could very well be the ones to solve the world’s problems and yet we want to tell them not to be weird.
I’m sure people told Ben Franklin that he was the equivalent to being weird when he did his lightning experiment. I’m almost positive, people said the same to Stephen King when they read his first books. Or even to Jane Austen, when she dared to dream to be a female novelist. What if Christopher Columbus decided not to leave England because people said he was weird to do so? Think of how strange of a place our world would be if no one dared to be weird. It would be so incredibly dull.
You have to imagine that these people, who thought up these strange and wonderful things, probably had some weird habits or likes as well. This thought comforts me when I think of all my weird quirks. Like the fact that I love to dip my salty golden fries into my cold chocolate frosty from Wendys. I hate ketchup on my regular fries but give me a frosty or a milkshake and I’m in heaven. Or the fact that I have been known to spontaneously burst into song and dance. I’m a regular walking talking Disney character at times. But then again, I am totally the girl who you can find head banging at an XFest concert. I’m the girl who weeps at Jane Austen's love stories and revels in Stephen King’s bloodiest of nightmares. I often use words that are outdated and make up my own terminology when I can’t find a word that fits (Michelleisms). I often find myself checking the door repeatedly before I go to bed at night, just in case it magically became unlocked. One of the weirdest things about me is that I have an overwhelming dislike for trash bags. Even if they are unused, I can never shake the feeling that they are dirty and must wash my hands thoroughly after touching one. I am multiple layers of weird packed into one single person, a quandary. But I am completely happy with the person that I am today.
I know that some people would find me too eccentric or think that I’m crazy, but I am happy with my weirdness. I know that it makes me different, unique and I am glad for it. I challenge each and every one of you to embrace your weirdness, not to try and overcome it. Be happy with the things you love or do that maybe different from everyone else around you. Be to school for cool and happily let your weird flag fly. Your differences are what make you, you. They are what make you beautiful and special to me.
