After watching some random YouTuber's video from a woman who usually dresses up crazy and then did a video where she looks "normal", it made me think about what normal actually means. While there is a lot of debate over the meaning of normal, I do believe there is a basic common perception.
Some people say normal doesn't exist because what is considered normal is different to everyone, just as some bad guys don't think what they are doing is bad because they they have a different viewpoint. They feel like what they are doing is right because their morals are different, or they feel like they don't have any other choice (in which case they would know what they are doing is wrong, but they're doing it because they feel like they have to). But all human beings know the basic "right or wrong" concepts. You KNOW when someone is being mistreated. Just as you know when a person looks normal or not. There IS a basic perception of normal.
For example, some people may think of normal like this:
They think that just because they grew up thinking they had to look a certain way to look normal to everyone else, that they are correct, while someone else who grew up somewhere different may think that person is wrong and they are the ones who are actually correct.
Just like the meaning of "normal". In today's society, we are expected to accept everyone just the way they are as being normal, because it's
fair. This is a 'leave no one behind', no one is wrong, everyone is right, we're all winners, everyone gets a lollipop kind of society.
However, there are those of us who take a step back and look at it like this:
And this is saying that whoever left this here for everyone to see originally had the intent to make a six or a nine, so one of these people are actually wrong. I used to agree with this, that there was actually a right or wrong, left or right, up or down, in or out, good or bad... That's the kind of society I was raised in, where we focused on opposites. There was always a winner or a loser.
Just like with the meaning of "normal". If you didn't look perfect, with the perfect hair, perfect grades, perfect smile, if anything about you dared to be different and you didn't fall into the same cookie cutter mold, you were looked upon as an outcast and you were different and weird.
This is what I used to think of as normal, and I was on the weird side of that. But then someone pointed out something that was even more logical:
What if whoever left that there actually had the intent of creating a 6 AND a 9? Just so people would decide for themselves which number it actually was, and make their own decisions. They never even actually had a goal in mind except to get people thinking. Or what if it was never meant to be either one? What if it was actually meant to be an 8 and was just never finished? Or what if it was an accident and someone was just making a swirl that happened to look like a 6 or a 9? What if it is there to exist and to just simply BE?
Just like with the meaning of "normal". What if normal is just meant to be however we were born? The way we came into the world, without hair dyes, contacts, plastic surgeries - no altercations of any kind. Just to BE. But then you might ask - what about people who are born with deformities? Wouldn't that make them abnormal, because they're not born like everyone else?
My answer is: Well...
yeah. It
does. It makes them different. But you know what? That's amazing. We're all used to normal, so if someone is born with something different, I think it makes them special. Should we treat them negatively because of it? Of course not. A person should be treated negatively if they are hurting someone, but not for the way they were born. Should we give them praise? Not necessarily, but if you want to, I don't see the harm in it. Who doesn't like a little extra praise now and then? Should we treat them as equals? Of course! But not because it's "fair" and because everyone is a winner. But because it's just the right thing to DO.
Just as I believe that if anyone wants to have green hair and wear orange eyeshadow and blue lipstick to stand out? Or if someone wants to have a bunch of tattoos, piercings, or body altercations? So be it. Good for them for wanting to add variety and for looking how they want to look. If it makes them feel better about themselves and doesn't harm anyone else, I don't see why their fashion choices should matter to anyone else.
Just as I'd say if another person wants to straighten their hair and wear blush and curl their eyelashes. Good for them, for wanting to look attractive. If a guy wants to grow his beard down to his ankles, good for him to put in the time and dedication to maintain it. If someone wants to get a nose job, stretch their earlobes, get braces on their teeth, wear an artificial leg, get lasik eye surgery, shave their head, get a boob job or a reduction... If it helps them feel better about their life and they aren't hurting anyone, good on them.
If they hurt THEMSELVES, that's different. Everyone has their own level of pain they are willing to deal with to look how they want to look. Even I've pierced my own nose before. But someone choosing to do something painful or having pain forced upon them are two completely different things. No one should ever be forced to feel pain against their will.
And the same goes for someone who DOESN'T want to stand out. Someone who wants to look natural and not wear makeup or make any changes to their body. Good for them for wanting to keep it real and original. Most of us see normal every day, and we're wanting to change and be different, but sometimes not standing out at all is just as different, because the world doesn't see that as being normal any more. They see strange as normal and normal as strange.
As a teacher once told me in health class - We're all just vessels, really. Our bodies are like cars, and our souls are the drivers. And I feel like however we want to decorate our car is up to us, as long as we're not running people over or causing crashes. From a smooth classy limo, to a big redneck monster truck, from a Mom van, to a pimped out hooptie, we're all different, but we still have respect the other drivers. Not because it's "fair" but because it's common sense, and it's the human thing to do.
L.I.V.E. L.I.F.E.
Free yourself
♥
