When I was younger, my uncle used to tell me that everybody was weird and that it was okay to be weird. I never fully grasped what he meant until recently. He didn’t mean that I should be weird on purpose, but he did mean that whatever I am is okay, no matter what. And, that everyone else around me is not going to be the same as me. That’s normal.

So, please understand that being weird is normal and if someone is not weird, that person is not normal either. It’s important to be able to understand nobody qualifies as normal. Everyone’s parents say, “Sweetie, the world would be boring if everyone were the same.” First of all, parents are always right, right? Right. Either way, they are correct when they say, in theory, that everyone is weird.

Weird is a synonym to unnatural, odd or awful, according to Thesaurus.com. Isn’t that sad? To be weird is to be awful. To me, being weird is a blessing. Being normal is awful. Yet, on Thesaurus.com they say synonyms to being normal, are conforming, meeting a standard or being “natural.” Let me just say, there is nothing natural about being normal. The Huffington post describes how nothing is normal, because everyone has different meanings of the word on a large spectrum. Fact of the matter is: there is not a universal normal for anything. According to Forbes, this all results in less competition as the “weirdo” has nothing to hold up to, or a standard to meet.

Step one in understanding this is put simply, getting people to get over themselves. After step one, the goal has been pretty much met. At this point, people understand that they aren’t the best thing since sliced bread after all. Once people get that through their heads, they stop caring about the few things wrong with certain parts of them. According to the Huffington Post, others will view a person as that person views himself. Once someone accepts themselves, each party, the person and the person viewing, is more accepting of themselves and each other.

I love people – plain and simple. I love them, because they aren’t all the same.

To start, I am a Christian, and Christians are supposed to love all people. So then comes the question: God’s children are all created equally, right? Then, why do I think people SHOULD be considered different than one another? Well,  because, God made his children all equal in value despite their practices and emotions. That’s what I believe. Everybody’s “weirdness” makes them special, not unvalued or disliked.

Slowly I have learned to look at them, and I appreciate the way this person’s nose isn’t the same as mine, how people’s forehead wrinkles aren’t the same as each others, how their fist-making hands differ. More importantly, I have learned to talk with people, and I understand that everyone thinks in their own special way.