Normal?

"A question that sometimes drives me hazy:
am I or are the others crazy?"
~Albert Einstein

I love this - it's so true!

‎Well this is a post that has been brewing for quite some time. And then my writing prompt today from the Invincible Summer writing e-course was this, "It's ok to be weird, Maybe your weird is my normal. Who's to say? I think it's an attitude." Lady Gaga

So this is going to be a random hodgepodge of a post - part free write response, part flash back to my child-hood days on the playground, and part "linky-love" to some other cool posts and blogs that relate (in my mind anyways!)
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"Weird is normal and normal is weird" I chanted with my friend on the playground. As we swing from the monkey bars her waist-long hair also sways with our strong, confident movements.

Let me say that again: normal is weird.

Kids speak the truth. We knew it back then - that normal can't be pinned down, that really, we are all unique and beautiful in our own ways. This same friend once said to me, "I think girls with blonde hair and blue eyes are the prettiest." Strangely enough it didn't bother me too much - maybe because I half fit the bill with my own sparkly blues (and blonde streaks at least!) Or maybe I was aware that I was just as beautiful as she was. Was that weird of her to make such a bold statement? Or was it just pure confidence? Pure self-love? (For the record it was definitely *not* poor self-esteem or trying to make me feel bad. I recognized it then and I can still see it clearly in my mind's eye).

Back to "normal". What *is* normal? Is it average? Is it being the "same" as most other people? Is it following rules or fitting in? And who exactly gets to decide what normal is? And beyond that - what is the opposite of normal? Is it crazy?

Oh crazy. Another loaded word. A blogger I love once wrote about the word "crazy" and it has helped me re-think it and how I use it. I say it too often but try to justify that at least it is usually in reference to myself!

What is crazy? Deciding you can make a difference? That you can change the world and that your voice matters? That you are important enough to follow your own dreams? No, that's not crazy, but if you need some encouragement here's a battle cry for you!

Some of my favorite people are the most eccentric. Normal seems kind of bland and boring. And that is the safe side of normal - there can be a dangerous side to normal too. Passivity, apathy, or ignorance disguised by words like, "that's just the way things are," or "everyone does such and so these days" can make normal seem inevitable. It is not.

On the other hand, I'm not saying throw out *nice*. Normal and nice do not have to be married to each other. It is important to be kind to each other. But a fake "niceness" to fit in to some approved box, no thanks. Personally I don't think that I'm crazy at all. The rest of the world is (grinning wildly here). Choosing love is sanity. The rest of it - crazy. But as far as the notion of normal goes, I'll take the weirdos and the crazies any day. At least I know their being real.