I don’t like normal people. “Normal” people. Whatever that means.
I like people who are beat or two off. Sometimes more, even.
Are you a friend of mine? Do you think you’re “normal?”
You’re probably not.
If you and I spend any time together, if we are confidantes?
Chances are you’re not normal.
Which is ok, actually, because normal? It’s over-rated. Hugely over-rated.
And so boring!
As I wrote this I started doing a mental inventory of the significant people in my life, those who seem normal but aren’t, not really. One is “normal.” Maybe because there has to be some semblance of sanity somewhere in my life.
But the rest? Odd ducks. Which I really like and don’t mean in a bad way.
As a young girl I often longed to be like everyone else, because I knew very young that I wasn’t. It’s not that I understood what that meant–I still don’t–but I knew that the things others liked or did or wanted to be? They didn’t interest me.
Even then, so young, I was on the outside looking in, usually a little puzzled at what I was seeing. Because it wasn’t what others saw.
And that perplexed me, because to me it was as plain as the nose on their faces. Still perplexes me.
Now, I kind of like being a little apart from the world, having an observer’s eye on everything.
Does any of this make sense to you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Oh, and if you’re one beat off? Weirdmaste to you today!
Weirdmaste.
Weirdmaste: the weirdness in me honors the weirdness in you.
Well…we really are cyber friends, but I can say that I go back and forth appreciating my “oddness” and feeling isolated by it. That could also be the Libra in me, with the back and forth!
My dear friends are fabulous and not normal. Most are crazy funny and a blast to be with. Where they are normal is in their core values. Kind, sweet, big hearted, loving friends that I can always count on. The perfect combination!
Yes, another kindred spirit here. Thank goodness that we are able to find each other, eventually. But I sometimes feel the isolation too. For now, the weirdness in me…
Haha! A friend/coworker and I actually listed all the people we worked with one day and categorized them as “normal” or “not normal.” That’s funny! Weirdmaste to you too!
Hmmmm. When I think about my friends – the significant relationships in my life – the common denominator seems to be strong-willed and opinionated mixed with a liberal dose of snark and compassion. Some of us are weird. Some of us are pretty normal in that conventional way. Perhaps it’s really the compassionate piece – I think everyone that I means quite a bit to me is a person that would give you the shirt off their back if you needed it.
There was a time in my life when I longed to be normal. But then, one day, I thought “how silly of me”. And that was the end of that. Give me the crazies, the wild ones, the people with passion and gusto. That’s the way of my world!
I’ve been called ‘Quirky’, ‘Strange’, at times ‘Bizarre’, but all the time, ‘Fun’. Embracing my ‘quirkiness’. And yours. Thank you for being my friend!
I hear this loud and clear and I LOVE IT Miss Carol. When my daughter was entering the teenaged years of angst, she said to me one day, Our family isn’t like other families Mom, we’re not normal. I remember immediately replying, YES BUT IT’S SO MUCH MORE FUN THIS WAY! Now she has her own children, and I am happy to report that they are not being raised in a “normal” way!
Yes, I keep my own beat too! I can so relate to how you felt when you were young. I was the sensitive one in the family, the one who had weird dreams that came true, who made a concoction of water and soap detergent and did a rain dance with it when we needed rain one winter. I disguised myself for many decades but about 10 years ago, I invited that girl back. And I like being interested in alternative things, being open to mysteries and such…and living in the grey. And because I am a Libra, I can balance myself…..and be “ordinary” too at times. I prefer friends who are offbeat, but i have a mix of alternative and conservative ones, and we all balance each other out.
I knew I liked you from the minute I met you…online that is. I can totally relate to what you are writing about here because I never could understand or relate to what “normal” is or was supposed to be. I know we would be great friends in the real world…well…you know what I mean lol. Awesome post Carol…inspired me to want to write about it too!
Definitely another weirdo here too so Weirdmaste! I always felt different as a kid too and knew I didn’t want to be like them but I longed for people like me.
I think I finally found a few:)
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Well…we really are cyber friends, but I can say that I go back and forth appreciating my “oddness” and feeling isolated by it. That could also be the Libra in me, with the back and forth!
Another cyber friend here, and you know what they say (whoever “they” are) — Normal is just a setting on the dryer. 🙂
What Julia says! And really, what a boring world if we were all the same – and “normal.”
My dear friends are fabulous and not normal. Most are crazy funny and a blast to be with. Where they are normal is in their core values. Kind, sweet, big hearted, loving friends that I can always count on. The perfect combination!
Yes, another kindred spirit here. Thank goodness that we are able to find each other, eventually. But I sometimes feel the isolation too. For now, the weirdness in me…
Anita
Haha! A friend/coworker and I actually listed all the people we worked with one day and categorized them as “normal” or “not normal.” That’s funny! Weirdmaste to you too!
I have never been normal. Ever. Thank God.
Hmmmm. When I think about my friends – the significant relationships in my life – the common denominator seems to be strong-willed and opinionated mixed with a liberal dose of snark and compassion. Some of us are weird. Some of us are pretty normal in that conventional way. Perhaps it’s really the compassionate piece – I think everyone that I means quite a bit to me is a person that would give you the shirt off their back if you needed it.
Who wants to be normal? That’s just another name for BORING! I embrace my weirdness because that’s what makes us all interesting.
another cyber odd friend, normal is impossible to discern any more. However I do embrace the weirdness in us all.
I have tried to hide my weirdness behind “normal” but I find, as I hit my fifties, that I’m not hiding anymore! Thank you for putting this out there.
There was a time in my life when I longed to be normal. But then, one day, I thought “how silly of me”. And that was the end of that. Give me the crazies, the wild ones, the people with passion and gusto. That’s the way of my world!
I’ve been called ‘Quirky’, ‘Strange’, at times ‘Bizarre’, but all the time, ‘Fun’. Embracing my ‘quirkiness’. And yours. Thank you for being my friend!
I hear this loud and clear and I LOVE IT Miss Carol. When my daughter was entering the teenaged years of angst, she said to me one day, Our family isn’t like other families Mom, we’re not normal. I remember immediately replying, YES BUT IT’S SO MUCH MORE FUN THIS WAY! Now she has her own children, and I am happy to report that they are not being raised in a “normal” way!
Adore this, KayLou!
I’ve been called quite a few things…weird among them. Quirky? Yes. Out there? At times. My family says I’m “kooky”.
But I love that about you!
Yes, I keep my own beat too! I can so relate to how you felt when you were young. I was the sensitive one in the family, the one who had weird dreams that came true, who made a concoction of water and soap detergent and did a rain dance with it when we needed rain one winter. I disguised myself for many decades but about 10 years ago, I invited that girl back. And I like being interested in alternative things, being open to mysteries and such…and living in the grey. And because I am a Libra, I can balance myself…..and be “ordinary” too at times. I prefer friends who are offbeat, but i have a mix of alternative and conservative ones, and we all balance each other out.
I can’t wait to hang out with you.
Personally I prefer the sound of odd ducks quacking! I do adore your point of view!!!
Quack to you, too!
I am so with you! We have a bunch of those Storypeople, including that one. So much more interesting to be an odd duck!
Nobody is normal.
Some are more normal than others…
Some of my friends are more colorful than others, and I think that’s what makes them so fun to be with. Normal is so overrated 😉
I knew I liked you from the minute I met you…online that is. I can totally relate to what you are writing about here because I never could understand or relate to what “normal” is or was supposed to be. I know we would be great friends in the real world…well…you know what I mean lol. Awesome post Carol…inspired me to want to write about it too!
Definitely another weirdo here too so Weirdmaste! I always felt different as a kid too and knew I didn’t want to be like them but I longed for people like me.
I think I finally found a few:)
I have never been considered normal – and your embracing of that trait is probably part of the reason I’m so drawn to your blog!
I grew up not feeling normal. When I got older I realized that few creative people feel like they are. I think it’s part and parcel of our “gift”.