Most of us have been called "weird" at some point in life, especially when we were little, and if you're like me, whenever that
happened, you felt like crap. It's normal to feel bad when you realize, as a kid, that you don't really fit in.
In time I came to realize that when someone calls me "weird", I should not be upset, and I should instead thank that person for the compliment.
When I was little I did my best to fit in. I was the "weird" guy in my class, and that may be one of the main reasons I was bullied, but I never stopped trying to be like other people. I started doing what others did, like going outside and spend my time with really boring people, looking at girls, especially their butt, drinking ,etc.
I did not feel good about myself, but at least I was "one of them".
Years after that I had the pleasure to meet a "weird" person, and even talk to her for a while. She was in Greece, so we couldn't meet, and she was way older than me, but we spent a lot of time talking online.
From her I learned a lot of things, and one of them was that "weird" people are usually way more interesting than others. That's because mediocre people don't have interesting subjects to talk about. They talk about trivial things that can become really boring after a while.
I was a little upset, because I was a mediocre person myself, so i felt bad about what she said, but I also felt like she was more than right. I did not enjoy the things others enjoyed, and I was willing to spend more time in front of my computer consuming interesting content rather than spend 3 hours in all kind of places looking at girls.
After a while and after a lot of conversations with that woman, I started trying to become better myself. I started reading books, staying inside instead of going out with my old friends, and trying to become a better guy. Obviously, when that happened, I was again, called a "weirdo" and bullied for my not "normal" behavior.
However, things were different. I started realizing how stupid people around me were, and how "weird" is just another word for "different", which pretty much means that you're not like every other person out there.
Suddenly, "weird" became a compliment, and whenever I met an interesting person, being called a "weirdo" was a huge deal for me. It meant that person liked my presence. I also loved spending time with weird people, since they had the intelligence to debate interesting subjects and think about new ideas, instead of drinking beer and talk about football.
I understood that one of the main reasons people love to hate "weird" people, is because they feel inferior. It's hard not to feel bad around a person who knows more things than you, who has a better attitude than you, who is not afraid to have different ideas and who is, in almost every aspect, more attractive than you.
Being a "weird" person is nothing to be ashamed of. It means you have something other people don't. It means you're different, and it means you're interesting.
I started thinking about being a "weird" person as a goal, and I always tried to be better than most people. I don't know if I succeeded, but what I do know is that trying to become different gave me the chance to meet really interesting people, and learn interesting things. Trying to be "weird" is one of the main reasons I'm here right now, on Steemit, writing this article.
So, whenever someone calls you "weird", don't feel bad and don't think about what you're doing wrong, but be glad, thank them for the compliment, and do you best to be as different as possible. You'll see, in time, how "normal" people suddenly become boring, and how "weird" people talking about all kind of subjects become, suddenly, very interesting.
