The Power and Magic of Weirdness
Some people even call it a super power.
I used to be weirder.
I know! For some of you that’s hard to imagine, but the truth is that I just sort of let my freak flag show. This, obviously, was a bad idea when I ran for the state legislature (and lost thankfully). It was strongly recommended that I take down my blog (it was LiveJournal to give you context) so that my weirdness would be hidden from the voters.
That didn’t happen.
Pretending to be someone different isn’t the way I work.
In The Perks of Being a Weirdo, an article in The Atlantic written by Olga Khazan, she talks about how not fitting in can sometimes make you more creative. She also has a talk about it with Wisconsin Public Radio.
Denise Hill writes in LifeHack,
“Society has conditioned us to be conformist. When you are called weird instead of hearing an insult, you should understand that you have just been paid one of the highest compliments. You have just been told that you are unique, bold, daring, exceptional, authentic and that you are special. Weird people think differently and choose to respond to the world around them differently – they own their individuality. It takes courage to go against the grain and to choose a distinct path in life.”
Weird people, she says, are divergent thinkers and that’s okay.
Part of what makes you weird, what makes you different from society’s norm, is often what makes you powerful. Embracing your weirdness allows you to love your own self, to be authentic, to not be fake, to not live your life as a lie.
That’s all really good stuff.
It’s also made me wonder where my goofy, weirdness went. Obviously, I’m still not normal, but I pass for normal a lot more than I used to. And I miss the Weird Carrie. The Random Carrie. The Carrie Who Just Was Who She Was.
So, here’s my weird little video from that time in my life when I used to be even weirder. I’m working my way back there right now.
I hope you’ll embrace your weird, your strange, with me, too.
