Personal Statement

Being Weird Isn’t Weird

      People in general can be quite weird, myself included. People like to do things that are confusing in hindsight or even considered contradictory, like how I have an aversion to talking about myself no matter how minor it is, even though I am fine with talking or elaborating on such a thing when asked. It is everywhere around us all the time, so maybe it isn’t really that weird.

Weirdness can be weird in how it can appear or is perceived. I can wiggle my ears, my family can burp on command, some classmates are talented at something they hate, but it is seen as normal to us. There are other less innate things too, such as some people who try to make a friend, but do not actually want one, or people who try to show lots of emotion but end up making it seem fake. Some weirdness can be based on perspective too, like how I think using slang in daily talk is weird, but is just daily life to others. How some people who don’t like to read are great at writing essays, and vice versa. This strangeness in everything around me is something that was beneficial for me to learn and accept even if I don’t understand it, as it has shown me that most things can be weird to someone somewhere and that it is good to embrace it.

Weirdness is usually seen as a bad thing, even if it isn’t. There are many recorded cases where people aren’t willing to accept something, because it is strange or weird to them and so they go against it, whether through fear of the unknown, or being reluctant to accept something not similar to what is “known”. Something I learned was to not hesitate when trying something new, after all trying new things can help you learn what you need to improve on, or you might find a new passion in life!

Maybe everyone is weird in one way or another. Most people I know of have at least 1 innate talent that most people could only ever dream of achieving, whether that be being able to learn 6 different languages and be perfectly fluent in them, or something minor like being able to shape their tongue into an O shape. It might not be a “good” quirk, like being able to wiggle your stomach to make waves, but even these quirks can be helpful in some way. I am able to wiggle each ear individually, and I was able to learn how to use it to keep my glasses from falling off. It may not be life changing, but I learned how to make something useless into a strength.

      I found it best to embrace your weirdness or quirks and use them to your advantage, afterall, what makes you unique makes you you! If weirdness is what isn’t something known to all or something that doesn’t conform to standard normalcy, then while regarding people, why is it usually our weird quirks that are what make us so unique?