You know who’s weird? Inventors, artists, and innovators. Trendsetters, Academy Award winners, and Nobel Prize recipients. Authors, actors, astronauts and beyond. Weirdness has attained an undeserved reputation for being less than regular when this couldn't be further from the truth. Already filled with far too many imitations and copycats, this world is in desperate need of a generous dose of weirdness.
Especially in this day and age, weirdness is side-eyed and looked-down-upon, just like eccentricity is becoming synonymous with a lack of social acceptance. I fully understand the fear of straying from the crowd, weary of taking the road less traveled, but something that society needs to understand is that being weird doesn’t necessarily mean being a social outcast. Weird is, by definition, different and interesting. You don’t have to dye your hair pink and use rollerblades as your primary mode of transportation (but if you do, all the better) to be interesting; being weird can mean to be genuinely, wholeheartedly, and uniquely you, in whatever way that is.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that certain aspects of my life would be considered basic; my lack of originality stretching from my Longchamp tote to my (beloved) Lululemon leggings, but weirdness means more than dressing differently or boycotting social media. Weirdness is rooted in eccentricity and originality, aspects of oneself that can shine through even the most basic of outfit choices. My occasional lapse of common sense, inexplicable obsession with "Criminal Minds," and random incorporation of old English into normal conversations are attributes that make me weird, in whatever way that may be.
And to be honest, being “normal” is boring. Who wants to hang out with the same boring, monotonous, robot who says the same things and thinks the same thoughts as everyone else? Certainly not I. Don’t be this person. Think outside the box and make your life stimulating; allow yourself to swim against the current and relish your unique weirdness, a quality that we all have but far too often goes untapped.
What you say and what you do constitutes more of your persona than what you wear, so if you wake up in the morning wanting to rock the – admittedly – "basic" ensemble of a Patagonia, leggings, and Uggs, then more power to ya! But wear these things as you let your freak flag fly, embracing your inner weirdness. Make no mistake, there is nothing wrong with being “normal” if that’s who you truly are, but if there’s another side of who you are, one that may not correspond with what others around you are thinking and doing, don’t let the fear of not being accepted keep you from embracing your unique weirdness – what makes you, you.
