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I sometimes rawr and meow instead of using words.
By Chelsea Hottovy — Written on May 11, 2016
Completely opposite of everything that I thought was true in high school, as an adult I have come to realize that being the weird kid is way, way better than being a "Heather" (or a "Plastic," or whatever today's youths are calling the normal kids).
The things that make me stand out as a huge weirdo were the things I tried my damndest to hide while roaming the hallowed halls of my high school, and they're now the things that I probably love best about myself. The peculiarities of being me are what give me a certain je ne sais quoi — they're what make me, me, as opposed to any of the other 7.4 billion people running around being them.
Here's why I'd much rather be weird than boring.
1. You're probably the fun friend.
If it's a big night in or a chill night out, or any combination of those words, people are going to want you there. You're going to be the one who livens up the atmosphere with the simple phrase, "So you know how nothing normal ever happens to me?"
Your friends will know that something absurd is about to come out of your mouth, you'll all have a laugh, and they can be pretty sure that nothing normal will happen to them when they're with you.
2. People are more likely to be open with you.
I'm pretty sure my friends know they can come to me with almost anything.
"This girl freely admits to daydreaming about causally running into her favorite celebrities and them falling madly for her. She has no room to judge me for wearing the same pair of lucky underpants for every minor life event/starting an Instagram for my dogs/loving the new Bieber album."
And you know what? They're mostly right (though, I'm totally judging you for loving the new Bieber. He's always and forever The Worst). Plus, weird recognizes weird, so the more open you are with your batsh*t stuff, the more open your friends will be, and you can seriously bond about how lucky you are to have found each other.
3. You're very free to be your own special snowflake.
And it kind of gives you an excuse to get away with almost anything. I love K-pop, yet I don't speak a word of Korean. My boss recently learned this about me and his response was, "Makes perfect sense for you. I should have guessed."
I sometimes rawr and meow instead of using words, and people just carry on with the conversation as though I had contributed something useful. My roommate has caught me pretending to know how to salsa while pretending I know how to cook, and he just nodded in a very "seems about right" kind of way.
4. You're never bored with yourself.
I'm sure we all remember Harvey Danger's seminal 1997 hit, "Flagpole Sitta." No? Just me? I love that song. Point is, Mr. Danger drops some serious knowledge with his line: "If you're bored, then you're boring."
Think about it. If you sit around all day talking about how bored you are, chances are the problem is you. I'm much too busy teaching myself how to read tarot and then looking into the cards to see my future to be bored.
It's just more fun to be strange and always have something to occupy your time and your mind than the alternative. What even is the alternative? Scheduling TV shows to watch? Reading economics textbooks? Brushing your hair 100 times? You'll get static, honey. Indulge your secret bizarro self.
5. You'll laugh so much that it counts as cardio.
I regularly laugh so hard with my friends that my stomach hurts and I need to sit down. I'm pretty sure that's what cardio is, right? Normal people who only have the weather and... I don't know, household appliances to discuss amongst themselves have to actually go on a run.
Get me, two friends, one cat onesie, and late night Spotify together and I'm pretty sure I laugh the equivalent of a marathon. It's just science! No one needs to look too closely into that claim.
6. You get to experience more in life.
If you're only ever staying in your comfort zone, how will you ever find out that you actually love something you never would have imagined for yourself? Is it jewelry making? Calligraphy? A new band that's not even close to the genres currently in your iTunes?
I once went to a study abroad meeting with a friend for moral support, and accidentally signed up to move to Australia for six months. From this I learned that travelling is my thing; it's what I do now. I went to a boxing class with a different friend, and almost immediately had to find a way to match my previously unknown inner badass with my otherwise generally chill persona.
If I hadn't been open to these new things, I would probably be sitting at home every night in the town I grew up in. No thanks.
7. You get to relax more.
Remember how hard you had to try in high school to fit in? It was exhausting keeping up with the correct way to roll your pant legs and fighting with your parents just to have something to brag about the next day, pretending you didn't still love the Backstreet Boys even though everyone knew you left school early in eighth grade to go buy "Millennium" the day it came out.
How much more fun would Homecoming have been if I could have just requested the DJ play "I Want It That Way" and taken over the dance floor with an exact recreation of the video? Get me in da club now and I guarantee you that's precisely what you'll see. I don't care about your BSB hate, haters; I'm here to do me and that takes up just about all my energy.
