HEY WEIRDO!

Some kids are just different from all the other kids from the very beginning. It seems to be an instinct among kids to tease or bully other kids who are different from them, and make them feel like outsiders. What the pack fails to realize is that as we get older, being an original and standing out from the crowd is a good thing.

This season, I got hooked on American Idol. I’m not being paid to promote the show, but I have not missed one since the beginning of this year’s run. As I write this, they were down to the final eleven, and after tonight, they will be down to ten. While there is incredible talent on the show, one girl has been tagged as being ‘strange’, and also very original, from the get-go. Although I will state that my favorite has been Crystal all along, Sioban Magnus has really stood out to the judges as a top contender. Not only does she have an incredible voice, but everything about her is, well, very Her.

In last night’s interview she said that she was always a little different. The thing is, if she was the same as everybody else, she would just be another girl who sings. Instead, she is clearly on her way to success in ‘making it’ as an artist, and will no doubt have her own style, which in the future others may choose to copy.

The next time somebody tells you or your child that they are weird or different, don’t get angry, or allow your child to develop anger or resentment over it. Remember that the alternative is to be run-of-the-mill, and to accept mediocrity.

If mediocre is your thing, then fine. But I would have to opt for extraordinary, any day of the week. As long as weird and different is combined with useful and legal, it can be a wonderful thing. When combined with entertaining, it can make you rich and famous as well.

As my father told me as a teenager: there is no such thing as competition, because you are the only one who can be you. How do you choose to be yourself? Are you going to play it safe, and accept average for yourself, or are you going to choose to be yourself all the way, and go for extraordinary?