Do What you Want to Do

 A friend recently said to me after I commented about "telling it like it is, and saying what I believe," that he guessed I was at the age when I didn't really care about what others think of me.

I don't believe that I don't care what others think of me, I think it's more that I am comfortable in my own skin, and I won't let the opinions of someone else change what I do. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, but I am free to state my feelings and do what I believe is right. If that means that I have reached a certain age, well, then so be it.

We live in a society where all to much emphasis is placed on what others think. In conforming to the thoughts of others, we lose our individuality and our uniqueness. 

In my neural coalitions class this summer, my students shared how they reasoned that if every human brain is different, we are all neurodivergent and unique. What a gift! How dull and boring would our world be if everyone were the same, and fit a "typical" or "normal" pattern. 

I continue to have difficulty with the word "normal." I define normal as "a setting on the dryer." People are unique beings. We might have typical or atypical behaviors and characteristics, but if we are all unique, what is normal.

I like being comfortable in my own skin. To quote the song from "La Cage Aux Folles,"--I am what I am, I am my own special creation.

What a gift for our children to let them be who they are, to be their own special creations. 

Be you. Embrace yourself. Enjoy living as the unique creature you are. I know that I will continue to do so, no matter what my age is! 

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