Okay, today I am writing about something my daughter addressed in her blog. She wrote a really cool piece about being normal (whatever that is!). Poor kid. She didn't have a chance at normality. She was born her mother's daughter and bless her little heart, I have been accused of a lot of things, but being normal isn't one of them. I won't rehash her wonderful words, after all, this kid has a fantastic gift for writing! However, I will mention that we have always encouraged the kids to be themselves. In this day and age, I am so very thankful for a teenage daughter who is great at being herself and actually likes who she is! This kid is so wise! Wish I had that kind of confidence at her age!
As a child, I never was one to go with the flow. I was the proverbial "fish out of water"~ the kid who "marched to the beat of their own drummer". I never did fall into a catagory. Looking back, I had lots of friends from all the different class cliques. I wore Wranglers, western shirts and boots every day so it would stand to reason that I had friends who were in FFA. I was the kid who was friends (yes, just friends) with the guys. The girls were awful! They were cruel and mean-spirited. My Senior year I was the FFA sweetheart and they didn't like it one bit. They erased me from all the FFA pages in the yearbook. Looking back, I see that they were just immature, but it sure did hurt me then. I hope that they have grown up ~ some people never do.
I had friends who were "jocks" and who were part of the "popular" kids too, although I was never part of any group. I was simply "me", no matter who I happened to be talking to. At the time, everyone seemed to be so confident. Looking back, I see that they were actually lacking confidence.
So what is normal? Normal is frightening. Look at today's society ~ it's a scary place. People are all running around trying to be a part of something ~ they want to dress alike, to act alike, to be accepted. God made every one of us different and we all go scurrying around in pursuit of more. Isn't what he made us enough? The only thing I want to scurry around in pursuit of is Him!
Don't know if things have changed since then I was in High School. I hope that they have, but I'm quite certain that they haven't. We homeschool, but the kids attended school for their first few year. I contemplated homeschooling from the get go, but it seemed awfully scary. It took me a while to realize that it was more scary to leave the kids in school!
Two teachers took me aside one afternoon and told me they needed to visit with me about my daughter. She was in kindergaten at the time. I was truly perplexed. What could this sweet, cooperative child have done? Well it seems that she walked in between two 3rd graders who were having an argument on the playground. She stood there and shook her fingers at them saying, "Now, that's no way to treat a friend." "My, Mommy says that you shouldn't talk to friends that way." "My Mommy says that you should be kind." "My Mommy...." LOL! I can just picture her! Even at 5 years of age, she had this incredible sense of self and justice. You go girl!
Marching to the beat of your own drummer is VERY cool!
1 comment:
Awesome! I love it! I have come to the conclusion that "normal" is the act of lying about your true feelings and desires. It is sacraficing for the sake of something less. It is like selling your beautiful 1000 acre ranch in Montana for a city house with a picture of a sunset painted on the building outside your window. I have never followed the crowd and it was difficult. I could never figure out why everyone hated me so much. Now, and only now, I see that is is because I was so much more free than them. I didn't hide and I think they wanted it too. Either that or they were so caught up in their own lies that they didn't see the freedom I had and just stuck to the hatred they were taught. It just comes down to the fact that being normal is lying to yourself. Everyone is a fanatic if they will only pursue what they love. Seeking God is my fascination.
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