Dare to be Different

I grew up being homeschooled. This was homeschooled back in the 80’s, long before it was cool and popular (if it even is now). This was when only weirdos and social misfits did it. I won’t pretend for a minute my family was the rare exception and that I was super cool and popular. I was a complete dork like the rest of them. Even my imaginary friends ignored me.

However, I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything. Although the education I received, the self-reliance I learned, the work ethic I developed, and the discipline I discovered were all invaluable, I’ve been learning to appreciate one of the side effects of my homeschool experience I didn’t used to value: I learned to be okay with being different. It was certainly not a widely acceptable “different” either, and I was very aware of that. We were a weird kind of different.

Being an outsider as a child was extremely uncomfortable. I wanted to fit in and be like everyone else but I wasn’t given that choice. Some days, it was overwhelming and I remember being very depressed at times. What I didn’t know at the time was – despite my rampant awkwardness and many insecurities – I was building up a tolerance for being uncomfortable. I was developing thicker skin and learning to operate outside of the acceptance of others.

What I also didn’t know back then was that fitting in and trying to be accepted by peers is also a good recipe for becoming invisible. Blending in with the crowd is a ticket to being average. I was learning the simple fact of life that to get a result different from what everyone else was getting, a unique path and process must be chosen.

Rarely does anyone ever accomplish anything of great value by following everyone around them. Choosing a path diverging from the norm means exposing yourself to doubt, criticism and ridicule. The crowd doesn’t like it when you go your own way. It’s worth it though, because you don’t want to end up where they are headed anyway.

To be clear, I don’t mean to encourage you to be strange just to be unique; that accomplishes nothing. I am talking about taking the lonely, uphill, narrow road because the destination you desire requires it. It’s selecting a path less traveled or untraveled because you recognize a shift must be made in the direction the masses are moving. If you want to be outstanding you must be first willing to stand out.