Strange and She Likes It
My daughter Liza, young teen that she is, loves to occasionally sing the lyrics to a song that was made popular on one of the kid channels on TV.
Come to think of it, she sings the whole song.
Come to think of it, she is ALWAYS singing some song, but more on that later. The song she sings was sung by an artist named Skye Sweetnam. You can see the video here:
The chorus goes like this
I’m strange
And I like it
That’s just the way I am
I can’t change
I can’t hide it
That’s just the way I am
Might as well get over it
But don’t try to understand
I’m strange
And I like it
That’s just the way I am
This may not be your style of music; certainly isn’t mine.
Celebrating Unique
What I like about it, however, is the celebration of being who they are. If you interpret it into adult-speak, the song basically says that yes I have idiosyncrasies, yes I do dumb things sometimes, yes I say silly things but all of that is what makes me unique and I gladly embrace it. I think it is a great message for kids to learn, particularly since there is so much incredible pressure among their peers to be like everyone else.
Striving to Find My Unique Me
I know I felt it when in Junior High School (what we now call Middle School) and High School to an extent. I went to a Junior High School where the vast majority of my peers were from families in higher income brackets than hours. Polo branded shirts and Levi branded jeans were the “standard” and if you didn’t dress like that you were an outcast. We could not afford those and my parents have always been thrifty so I wore Sears Kings Road jeans. You can guess how that went over with my peers. I hovered around the edge of several different peer groups and tried to fit in but never really got there. I finally decided to quit trying and that’s what started to make the difference.
Once I reached high school, I started to embrace what was unique about me. Naturally, I went a bit overboard for a while but I managed to stand out in high school and even show some leadership. It was also there that I was allowed to grow more of the skills that set me apart. While I had athletic skills, I chose to spend more time with speech and drama, particularly speech and was a competitive speaker all through high school and into college. It helped me discover and hone the special talents, personality, and style that made me unique. By setting myself apart and showing confidence in that person, I experienced more respect and popularity and SUCCESS than I ever did trying to be like everyone else.
The Girl Just Can’t Help It
I mentioned my daughter is always singing. That’s no exaggeration. Pretty much there is a song in her heart and on her lips every moment of every day. While it sometimes wears thin, I would never dream of stopping her. It is her essence; it is part of what makes Liza uniquely Liza; along with her total acceptance of anyone regardless of race, intelligence, capability, or popularity. I hope she continues to embrace that to find her true success.
Action Plan
- What about you? What makes you uniquely you? Are you embracing that or have you hidden that in order to fit in? How’s that working out for you?
- What can you do today to bring out more of YOU in what you do?