At some point, you’ve probably spent a sleepless night (or a couple dozen) staring up at the ceiling, wondering just what the f*ck makes you different from the billions of other people on the planet. Maybe, like a normal, stable individual, you’ve come to the conclusion that even though you’re not all that special on paper, you’re pretty cool, and that’s all that matters. Or maybe you’ve decided that no, I need to be UNIQUE, and you now spend way too much of your time trying to convince other people that you’re “like, suuuper weird and stuff!” If this sounds like it could be you, read through the warning signs below to find out if you’re trying a little too hard to be quirky, and if by extension, everyone probably hates you.
1. You purposefully listen to unique-sounding bands so that you can brag about your “super underground” music taste
If it doesn’t sound like something a skinny dude with crappy tattoos who smokes way too many cigarettes recorded in his mother’s basement, you’re not interested. Also, you don’t need to explain your “obscure” band t-shirt. Do you really still think that no one else has heard of Arctic Monkeys?
2. You actually believe in astrology
We’re not talking, “Oh look, Buzzfeed posted another generic astrology quiz about which cat meme I’d be according to my sign, that’s fun!” levels of interest, we’re talking, “I make every decision in my life according to my birth chart and I firmly believe that my last relationship failed because our signs just weren’t compatible.” Your last relationship actually failed because you dated a guy that cheated on every girlfriend he’s ever had and you thought you’d be the exception (you weren’t), but go off!
3. You tweet shit like “lol I only love pizza and dogs tbh *shrug emoji*”
Literally so does everyone in the entire world forever. No one is going to think you’re super weird for liking the most universally loved food and the most universally loved animal. That’s the actual opposite of weird.
4. You grab onto one hobby or interest and never shut up about it
If you can’t be defined by your obsession with embroidering novelty socks with images of French bulldogs, what can you be defined by? Everyone you meet has probably heard you ramble at length about your one ~weird~ hobby (which probably isn’t even that weird). News flash: no one finds it as fascinating as you do.
5. You think your social awkwardness is endearing, but it’s actually just uncomfortable for everyone involved
There’s a difference between being genuinely shy and awkward and playing it up to appear quirky and cute. Rule of thumb: if your response to being awkward is giggling and pointing out how awkward you are, you’re not actually awkward, you’re just the worst.
6. You wore Converse to prom
Let me guess, you’re not like the other girls? And you’ve got a whole lotta internalized misogyny going on?
There’s nothing wrong with being different, but if you have to try and change the way you act just to stand out, everyone is going to know it’s not genuine. Being quirky isn’t something you should force yourself into – just be yourself. Unless you do any of the things I mentioned. Then you should probably reevaluate your life choices.