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- My unconventional upbringing is a superpower
I had a pretty unconventional childhood.
Compared to some, it probably isn’t that crazy.
But, my life was different enough from 98% of the people that I have associated with.
And, so, for much of my early life as a kid and young adult, I actively hid those facts from my friends, coworkers, etc…
Here’s a few of the things that was different:
Grew up in a trailer.
Attended a church that was in someone’s house.
Homeschooled from Kindergarten through 12th grade.
Didn’t celebrate Easter, Halloween, or Christmas, ever.
Wasn’t allowed to watch MOST movies. Typically anything made before 1950 was ok.
Here’s a few ways that I tried to cover these facts up:
As a kid, I would lie and talk about the gifts I got for Christmas.
Even as an adult, I would talk about high school like I went to a public school. I was afraid of the stigma around homeschooling.
Stupid.
It’s stupid because since then, I’ve come to realize that this type of upbringing has gifted me with a very different perspective.
A unique perspective.
A view of the world that only myself and my siblings share.
And this perspective gives me a unique set of curiosities, a wider gap between any comparisons to others, and a MUCH reduced need for external validation.
These curiosities and reduction in approval-neediness makes me a way more interesting writer.
Plus, I have a ton of interesting stories.
So now, I embrace it.
I no longer WANT to be like everybody else.
As Jeff Bezo says:
In what ways does the world pull at you in an attempt to make you normal?
How much work does it take to maintain your distinctiveness?...What I’m really asking you to do is to embrace and be realistic about how much energy it takes to maintain that distinctiveness.
The world wants you to be typical – in a thousand ways, it pulls at you.
Don’t let it happen.
You have to pay a price for your distinctiveness, and it’s worth it."
There’s only 1 you.
Stop worrying what people will think.
They probably suck anyway.
I spent so much of my life trying to hide the “weird” parts of me only to find that people don’t care. At least the people that I want to be around, anyway.
So, stop trying to hide. The right people will love your authentic self.
Statistically speaking, a “normal person” is physically unhealthy, emotionally anxious/depressed, socially lonely, and financially in debt. Fuck being normal.
Cheers,
Swanagan
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