What does it mean to be different? As defined by the dictionary, being different is to be dissimilar in regards to character or quality. Not ordinary, but unusual. Deviating from the crowd has almost always been more painful than rewarding. If you’re like me, you’ve always wished to be someone other than the one who sticks out all of the time. It puts a target on your head that even you can see. Contrary to society’s expectations, straying from typical social standards isn’t a negative concept. It just hasn’t provided a positive experience for everyone because of the way society reacts to our differences, the only exceptions being those who became famous because of their dissimilarities.
It seems like we’re stuck between “good different” and “bad different” when our difference shouldn’t even be categorized like that in the first place. According to what is becoming mainstream ideology, being different is what’s wrong with the world now. “Bad different” is only unreal to those of us who dwell on that side of the spectrum – the outcasts, the loners, or the wanderers, as I call us. We are the ones who attract unwanted attention. The struggle to fit in bears heavy in our hearts, as it feels almost impossible to overcome the hurdle and meet the absurd status quo. Maybe we just aren’t meant to.
Our plight isn’t something to glamourize. As a person who is unlike others, you are subject to things that you’d rather avoid. You’re a target, one of judgement, ridicule, and isolation. Being defined as different in this end of the spectrum seems to only leave you with self esteem issues. Society’s standards of what’s acceptable and what’s normal is outrageous. You’re left constantly feeling like the odd one out. Too bad people don’t view us the way they see abstract art, which they seek to understand more and connect with rather than frown upon.
I wish being different was considered positively, the way you hear your parents tell you. I wish being different was something that never put people in hellish predicaments. I wish it led to the formation of people of greater character, who let their unique qualities define them, as well as people who allowed these differences to do so. Accepting our differences would make the world a better place and would lead to a better understanding of all of life’s intricacies. Being different on either side of the spectrum is a unique and beautiful thing, and more people should embrace this idea.