Dare To Be Different

Dare to be different.

It’s pretty cliche but it’s true.

For so long, I hated being different. Because if I’m honest, I’ve been different in pretty much every situation and every setting I’ve been in. And I hated that – or at least I anticipated and shied away from it. I felt like me being different was a cause of concern because it set me apart and I wasn’t like everyone else. Oh how wrong I was.

It’s so liberating to embrace individuality. I’ve gotten to a point where I don’t care as much. I won’t lie and say I don’t care at all, because I do and I still fret and get major anxiety over what people think about me. I still care but just not as much and with not as much intensity. It’s not the main thing on my mind when I’m in a social setting and that’s something I’ve come to cherish and appreciate.

Homogeneity shouldn’t be something to strive for. How awful would it be to be just like everyone else? What would set you apart? Why would you want to be just like every other person around you?

Embrace differentiality.

Embrace individuality.

Think of the ways that set you apart and embrace them. Scream them from mountaintops. Show how you’re different and unique. Be okay with the fact that you aren’t like everyone else and that’s what makes you stand out – that’s what makes you special.

Walk into a room and realize that you don’t have to “fit in” to belong.

But also realize that it’s okay to want to fit in, it’s okay to want to blend in with the crowd, and it’s okay to feel and think about these things. We’re all human and it’s okay to care about what people think about you and it’s okay to be scared and have anxiety. But it’s not okay to let these thoughts and anxieties take over. It’s not okay to let your differences stop you from leaving your comfort zone and finding yourself.

The people who embrace your differences and embrace you as an individual are the people who you should keep around. It’s those people who like you for who you are, as unique and special as you are. 

And on the flip side, embrace others’ individuality. Let people be themselves around you and be there for them.

Be who you want to be and let people be who they want to be. It’s with those differences that you learn and grow and evolve into a more wholesome human being. Being different doesn’t make you weird or odd, it makes you unique and special and it means you bring something to table that no one else can.

There’s no one else in the world just like you. Don’t let that scare you. Let it inspire you to be the best version of yourself that you can be. If somebody doesn’t like that or doesn’t like you, that’s their loss.

I challenge you to embrace something different about yourself. Try something new that you normally wouldn’t. Wear something you’ve always wanted to wear but have been scared to. Listen to music you truly love. Start a book that calms you. Eat something new that you’ve never eaten before or eat something that would make 10-year old you happy. Wear different patterns or wear your favorite outfit. Do something that makes you happy in a way that you happy and don’t care about what anyone else thinks.

Dare to be different and embrace who you are as a person. Because I promise, you are so much more than you give yourself credit for.