Is there such a thing as normal when it comes to someone’s personality or looks? Can you even define what normal is?
I don’t think so…
How many times do see people, especially youth, working so hard to look normal, act normal, or just be normal?
Look at the person next to you. Are they normal?
Look at your best friends. Are they normal?
Look at the famous stars on TV and radio. Are they normal?
I don’t think so…
It’s time to stop and take a look at the core issues. We all want to fit in. What lengths are we willing to go to to get there?
Somehow, somewhere, this lie has crept in that says we have to be someone or something else to be what we want to be.
I don’t think so…
We are made in God’s image and God does not make junk. You’ve probably heard that before. I believe it too!
Among other things, we have been created with a certain personality, body type, and mind. Yes, we can even affect those things and improve them, temper them, or hide them. We can change some things but we are still ourselves. We don’t need to be someone else.
There is no such thing as normal…
Believe me, I’ve tried!
Filed under: Pet Peeves | Tagged: image of God, Normal, personality, self-esteem, youth
Hi, Curtis. This is actually one of my favorite topics, as I am convinced I have never been normal either. However, looking at the technical definition of the word, I am sure I never want to be. The NORM, in math, I believe, or in engineering lingo, has to do with what occurs most often, or what is most COMMON. Now I have never wanted to be common – I insist on being UNcommon. It is that of which is in greatest abundance. People who are “normal” blend in with the crowd most easily because they all are most alike. I can understand why teens want to be that, because they don’t know how to handle being conspicuous, BUT — while they may choose to be inconspicuous in some areas, they definitely make choices about when to be conspicuous. They don’t want to be ignored, but they don’t know how to handle unsolicited attention. If they ASK for attention, they respond easily, whether its with defiance or grace, but when they are singled out and separated from the herd, they’re just like deer in the headlights. All this said as a generalization in society at large. When teens (or anyone) is in familiar company (see the word FAMILY in that?) they respond much more easily and are less inhibited. They are not so concerned with being normal or blending in — in fact, it is from their FAMILY a teen is most anxious to disassociate! It is, therefore, a person’s “familiars” that define normal, by forcing the person struggling to find themselves to be ABNORMAL. Since experimental forays away from that mooring tends to lead into other groups and other definitions of normal, of course it’s all a risky business and creates tension. Not enough of THAT in the teen world, is there? After enough trial and error, I think most people either settle into a group that give them the right balance of affirmation, or decide not to fit into ANY group, and in fact are suprised when they run into people who appreciate their differentness, without even trying. This is where I think Christianity has the upper hand in accepting people. Well, true Christians do — because they not only don’t dwell on differences, they seek out and celebrate them. This is why true love (God’s love) casts out fear. How can you not trust someone, and want to be around someone, who is on the same wavelength from the get go and keeps up effortlessly, not because they know you or came from where you came from, but because they are functioning in the place of God’s love, which is everywhere and all-encompassing, and complete? Well, thus ends the post on this subject, because if I keep going I’ll never post on any others. Laura