If you hope to unleash your inner freak, you're in the right place! Trust me, it's in there. The fact that you want to expose it is proof enough.

When I was five, my mom called me Freakazoid, the superhero of a short-lived 90s cartoon I'd loved. The name, I did not love; Mommy thinks I'm a freak? I made her promise to never call me Freakazoid again. Little did we know how the idea of being a freak would stick with me. At age eight, I realized the error of my ways; fully immersing myself in my individuality, I begged her to re-dub me Freakazoid. She still won't break her promise 16 years later.

Now an adult, I embrace my inner self: the good, the bad, and the freaky! I challenge widely-accepted notions, do tasks the "hardest way possible," and see life from utterly obscure angles that make people question my sanity. In many cultural regards based on my daily life and views, I'm a freak. While I know others have unique minds, many hide it — thatis a huge problem! How can we advance as a society if we all conform to the same dull ideas, trends, norms, & standards? You could be that spark the world needs, the unusual perspective that sets a new era spinning.

Though it's now trendy to be "weird," I've always been me and encouraged others to be them. No matter how you implement your version of "freaky," you add invaluable you to the universe, and nobody else can ever do that! All my business cards quote Dr. Seuss in fine print: "Today you are you, that's truer than true; there's no one alive who's younger than you!" which I like to pair with his reminder, "Be who you are, and say what you feel. Those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter." You never fail me, Doc.

Most difficult about blossoming into the true you: others are uncomfortable with themselves & will judge or tease you for being true to yourself. It's because they're not true to themselves and wish they had your confidence. Don't let them distract you from becoming who you are—maybe you'll even inspire them to soul-search, too! You have the final say over your life, and you can only do your best- which will get better & better! Be patient and (be)lieve in (you)rself. We're all freaks, honestly. It's a matter of letting your inner freak shine.