Fly your freak flag high!

Seth Godin said, "The weird set an example for the rest of us. They raise the bar. They show us through their actions that in fact we're wired to do the new, not to comply with someone a thousand miles away."

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I've always been a little bit different. Ok, a lot different. Throughout my childhood, teens, twenties and early thirties, I tried to "fit in" with almost every stereotypical crowd there is. I understood that as something expected of me. 

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The problem, as I saw it then, was that I always stood out, in varying degrees, from the tribe. 

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One of the biggest things I've learned on my journey over the past two and a half years is that I was born to stand out. To live just on the edge of pretty much every grouping  - I was given a voice to speak up, a loud, infectious laugh, and a presence that attracts attention - whether I want it or not (it's usually when I'm falling down or tripping that I seem to garner this attention most 🙈)

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I'm witty and hilarious. I push the envelope.  I'm usually saying something "inappropriate". As a child I completely owned everything about me - as we all do. But slowly and surely I learned that  our culture only appreciates that kind of loud obnoxious profane humor in certain contexts. (Apparently, cursing on the playground and rapping beastie boys and Cris cross in the 4th grade is frowned upon, as is playing doctor behind the trees...but that's another story for another time). 

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Over the years I learned to filter myself, put a lid on my naturally free, loving, loud personality. I learned by example to try to be something I'm not to please others or make them feel more comfortable. Especially once I became a lawyer - I had a whole NEW level of pretending - behaving as "professionals" ought to. 

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And then I'd let it slip, and shocked eyes would stare back at me, like "oh no she didn't!"

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But once I decided to start just being me, no more, no less, no pretending - all the limiting walls I had built around myself were leveled. 

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Some people don't like how I am - to them, I say BYE FELICIA 💁 

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It's time to be selfish about who you are. Be that. Own that. Share that. The right people will stick around and the negative energy suckers will eventually disappear. They don't deserve to bathe in your awesomeness. 

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And stop cringing - you ARE awesome. Stand tall and be proud of that!

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Who's with me?