Being Different is Okay

Hey, I know that everyone tells you this. That being different is okay, and you should be proud to be unique. I agree, but it is not always easy to accept that you are different from everyone else and I am not going to tell you to embrace your differences, rather I am going to tell you to deal with them.


Being different from your friends and classmates is a tough job and sometimes you may want to give up and just say "fuck it I'll just do what they're doing." And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Whether you start drugs because of them, though I would not recommend that, or you dye your hair to fit in; do whatever makes you happy.


I remember that when I was growing up all my close friends were shorter than me, I felt like a giant beside them and even though wearing heels made me feel powerful and strong I never did. I could not be taller than I already was, I could not look any more out of place while I stood next to them.


All my early elementary school and middle school close friends were Caucasian, in other words "white". I am a mix of many different things and I was darker than them. This also made me feel out of place, knowing that I could not change how tall I was, I found a way to become more like them. I stayed out of the sun as much as I could, I put sunscreen on every time I left the house, I looked up different tutorials on how to lighten my skin. I could never be as "white" as them, but I could try, and try I did.


My hair was always a mess. The curly frizziness that I got from my father’s side of the family became yet another flaw in my appearance. I would constantly change my shampoo and conditioner with ones that would help me have silky shiny hair, though they never helped. I used a flat iron more on my hair than I have ever used an iron on my clothing. I would stay up late to straighten it or I would wake up early. If my hair was not straight it would go up in a bun where those hideous curls would never be seen again.


So, no, it is not okay to be different. It is horrible, we all try our hardest to change our opinions and to change our appearance to look like those that we find beautiful. Being the same as everyone is much better, and so much easier. The thing is though, if everyone was the same how would we expand our knowledge of those around us? How would we learn new things and have new experiences? We wouldn't. So, what I want you to do is get it out of your head that being different from those around is okay, because it isn't. It is so much more than okay, it's necessary.