Individuality

One book I've been reading of late is called stargirl. You may have heard of it.....or you might not. It's getting pretty popular. It's about a girl...and a boy I guess. Really it's a boy telling the story of a girl. But it's not a normal girl. It's the type of girl that plays her ukelele at lunch and sings happy birthday to people. Who decorates her desk at school everyday, wears long flowing dresses, always cheers for the losing team, and dances in the rain. This isn't an ordinary girl. It's a girl who isn't afraid to be herself. Those type of people are lost in the modern day society. Being yourself is frowned upon...even though all claim to love individuality, they really despise it. Media thrive on everyone wanting to look exactly alike. Movie makers thrive on everyone liking the same type of entertainement. Clothing stores thrive on everyone wearing the exact same thing. Our whole society needs everyone to act the same way, dress the same way, and be the same person. And then they freak out if one person has the nerve to different. That's the way it was in the book. All the kids loved stargirl (that was her name)! At least, they did at first. Yet she was too different for them. They drew a line, basically saying you can only be yourself up to a point. And that happens all over the world. Individuals are contained. They are told they are all fine and dandy up to a point...but they are never allowed to cross that point. And often times they don't. Because they know what follows if they do; they are shunned. They are put into a box that is labeled "Do Not Open". They are made out to be a freak by the media. They are frowned upon by people who have bought the lie that it's not ok to be yourself. And then...it ends. That person is snuffed out and ridiculed. And everyone forgets about them or puts them out of their mind.
Well I for one don't think that this should be the case. I mean, think about it. What if we lived in a world where everyone was encouraged to be themselves! To like their own things and have their own personality! And I'm not talkng about sinning; I don't mean those who feel like breaking the law and sinning should be able to whenever they want. You have to be able to draw a line when things beome just plain wrong. But what if we lived in a place where everyone was encouraged to decorate their desks in school, play the ukelele, have pet rats, read geeky books, and dream big. Where we actually were encouraged to be ourselves! Thats the type of world I want to live in. That's where I want be. And it starts with us. It starts with enough people who are willing to take the risk of being shunned. Who are willing to really find and be themselves. Are you willing?
I wrote a poem about it the other day. It goes like this;

You say your abnormal...what is normal anyway?

You say your not popular...what is so great about being popular, do popular people have better lives? Does God love them more?

You say you don't fit in...why do you want to be the exact same as everyone else? Do you want to be boring?

You say your not stylish...why do you want to wear the exact same clothes as everyone else? Shouldn't everyone have their own style? Don't you want to have yours? Or do you still want to be boring?

You say your weird...what is weird? Is it just being different? What is wrong with not being a clone?

You say nobody likes you...God does; He absolutely loves you! And I promise you there are people out there who like you. No matter who you are or what you've done. :)