Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Being different

The first time I saw an albino peacock I wondered, "Okay, peacocks have huge colorful tails to attract females—peahens. So, what do peahens think of albino peacocks? Do they think albino males are boring and weird, or do they think they're exceptional, intriguing, extra sexy?" I don't know.

I knew I was different, especially during my teens when deviating from the herd was social suicide. I was so odd that there wasn't even a special sub-clique for people like me. But high school is a terrible place to learn individuality and self-worth. Only certain types of people are rewarded—by peers, by teachers, by the system.

Fortunately, things changed for me in college. I majored in a field where originality and uniqueness are valuable assets. Ironically, I fit in with people who weren't concerned with fitting in. My opinion of myself, and my life, improved greatly. Different is good.

It wasn't a difficult leap, then, for me to sell my house, divest myself of most of my possessions, disconnect myself from conventional society and start living in a van. It's not normal, but so what? I'm no longer concerned with being popular. But, you know, I wouldn't mind having women flocking around me, drawn by my sexy oddness.

3 comments:

  1. That peacock is beautiful! And so are you. But I love my husband so I won't come flocking around you. Sorry.

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  2. I know what U mean saying that not belonging into the herd is very hard, specially if you are a girl, the girls don't like U & the boys bully you in school & high school ( & everywhere ); the advantage to ' the whole thing ' is often times- like in my case- U learn to learn to defend yourself in the most creative ways !!

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  3. No doubt that albino peacock stands out in his crowd and gets noticed for his uniqueness. :-)

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