An Outsider’s Odyssey
Written snd collage by Julie Tran
The quiet one at the table. The smart one in class. The kid with way too many unusual hobbies. While the rest of humanity seems to hang out in one big warm bubble, you live at the edge of it, an outsider. The puzzled glances and blank stares make you feel isolated and for a moment you mistake your uniqueness for incorrectness and the curiosity of others as animosity. But the truth is, there is nothing wrong with being an outsider to the general mass, for you are never really on the outside. You are never isolated.
As social creatures, we are naturally wired to desire inclusion. The evolutionary forces within us seek a sense of belonging, but they don’t always tell us how to find what we seek. Instead, we draw our clues from the world, turning to the ready plethora of rom-com movies, songs and perfect images from social media. But as it turns out, they don’t offer instructions as much as a ridiculous amount of pressure to look pretty and dissolve our personality into cliques and groups. We fall into the cycle of chasing perfection and homogeneity, not getting it and chasing it again furiously until we see the world as an impenetrable huddle of bullies and ourselves as failures. But that is just not true.
The general mass is different from you, and you from them. You stand out from the crowd, you dream of things most do not and you can do things others can’t. These attributes mean you’re meant for something different than others. What they don’t mean is that you’re alone. Because, honestly, who is ever alone? Who is truly solitary in this world of seven billion people? The world is big enough to guarantee you that there’s someone out there who talks the way you talk and likes the things you like, and the world is small enough to offer you the chance to find them. Ironically, the best way to take this chance is not by going out and looking for people, but by going out and looking for yourself. Plow through the anxiety of standing out, move out of the general crowd and go where your hobbies and passions take you. As horrifying the prospect is, you must do it because happiness doesn’t come without courage. Greatness is reserved for the few who stand out and dare to make the most out of it.
Where you are different, make yourself unique. Where you find repetitive, dare to introduce difference. Your freshness will be most welcomed. And, when you feel misunderstood and alone, take a leap of faith to where you can be yourself, and wherever that is, there will be people like you. Wherever that is, you will not be an outsider.
