Beautifully Different?

How do we go from cherishing community one day to proclaiming to the world how uniquely different we are from everyone else?

Sure I’m different from a lot of people, but I thank God that I actually share a lot in common with my friends, family & extended communities. What actually keeps me sane when I feel like I’m all alone or that nobody understands me is the fact that there are people out there in this big ol’ word who feel or act exactly as I do. (So I can’t be that weird, right? I must be OK, right?)

You see, I’ve always though of myself as unique, maybe too unique.

From as far back as I can remember my parents had to sometimes put me in my place and remind me that I’m not so different from other people. I’m a hypochondriac. Well that or I’m actually sick a lot more than other people, but either way the same point rings true, but I can’t know which one it is. I tend to go to the doctor proclaiming that my anxiety is uniquely different from anything they’ve ever seen or my sinus  cold must be H1N1 or an undiscovered disease that surely could only survive in my unique body makeup (HA!). The tricks my mind play on me sort of suck. Whining about every ailment isn’t something that makes me feel all that beautiful at all. And dammit, I just want to fit in!

There are some quirky things about myself that I love, however.

1. I didn’t get my ears pierced until my 25th birthday.
2. People tell me that I have a freakishly close relationship with my 2.5 years younger sister. (See last 3 months of my blog posts all about her to understand what I mean).
3. I wear a lot of hats. Literally (but figuratively, too, I suppose). Almost every day in winter because it’s the only time I can get away with it (although I do this mainly because I have a fairly rare hair disorder and I hate it… but I love my hats!). Yay photo collage time!
4. 
5. Think independently — love together. I value having a mind of my own, but I share my heart every day with those I really care about. It’s something hard to balance at times (thinking rationally any with my heart at once: example of how I used my blog to help my sister’s dream come true) but I think my friends & family both respect my independence and know I would do anything for them at the same time. I’m just crazy supportive. I don’t give up on people. I hold them accountable out of my fierce love for them.
6. I’m an evolving personality. I’m never what people expect me to be when we first meet. Partly due to my seriously off-beat facial expressions at just the wrong moment and partly because I’m so open to trying new things that I’m truly different from year to year and depending on the social circle I’m in at the time. I’m social and shy. I’m financially conservative, yet socially [extra] liberal. I’m a career girl and a party girl IN ONE. I’m a planner and spontaneous. If one thing is for sure, I’m guaranteed to surprise you. Test me!

Now if only my friends and family could confirm that I speak the truth.

…

In participation with #reverb10.