I want to be Aimee Mullins when I grow up. I listened to this Moth Podcast earlier this week and, well it’s hard to put into words how I felt about her. She says that she has moved beyond accepting her differences to celebrating her differences and I think – why can’t I be like that? I read stories now and then about people with much more challenging problems than I face and the incredible things that they do and I feel shame. If I had been Aimee Mullins as a little girl would I have grown up to set world records or would I have sat there feeling sorry for myself? Would I find a way to do the things I wanted to do or would I have made excuses about how hard it was?
I think that far, far too often I give up. Or at best, I trudge through. Surely I could do more.
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I would like to be brave enough to celebrate my differences! It sounds so good, but isn’t how most people deal with being out of the mainstream for any reason. We all want to fit in, whether we will acknowledge it or not. That said, the older I get, the more enamored I am of JUST BEING MYSELF, no matter what others think.
I think you’re right, probably most of us want to fit in. That’s probably what makes her so awe inspiring to me because while I want to be good with just being myself, I’m not sure I ever will be.
Interesting conversation. As someone who has almost always been an outsider, I don’t even think of things in a “do I fit in?” sort of way. I’m just me– accept me or leave me.
I think that celebrating your differences is wise advice; variety is the spice of life, after all. No one with any sense wants to live in an all vanilla world, do they? Or maybe they do and I just never caught on to this fact!
I really wish I could reach the place that I was comfortable enough with myself to truly not care what others think. Sometimes I get there for a little while. I think most of us experience the dichotomy of wanting to be accepted just as we are and wanting not to be different from others. It starts as children when anything different is something worthy of teasing. But you’re right, who wants to live in a plain vanilla world where everyone is the same? We each want to be special, different in a way that other people celebrate. But I think we have to celebrate our selves before anyone else is going to do so.
One of the women I admire is Ina Garten. Of course, I only know her public persona but she seems so completely comfortable with herself. She seems to expect that people will love her and all the people around her seem to do so.
I know what you mean about Ina Garten. She is a perfect example of pulled together, successful and calm. I have no doubt that she knows how to celebrate herself first!
When I was younger I always wanted to fit in, but somewhere along the line that desire just faded away. Don’t know when or even why. There’s a topic for introspection if there ever was one! You certainly have got me thinking with this post.
Instead of listening to the link above, I went and read your 101 things. And let me say AMEN sistah to #49. One of my fav bumper stickers of all times said: Nice People Suck. I smile just thinking of it.
Oh, and I like the rest of your list, too. Nicely written.
Thanks. I enjoy the flow of consciousness of the project.