Feeling Comfortable Being Different

How many people feel "different" in some way? You would probably be surprised at the high percentage of people who do feel really different. And yet, should we be so surprised? We know that we are all unique and individual and this implies that we are indeed all different.

Sometimes we wish to enhance and show off our uniqueness and to be seen to stand out from the crowd, whilst at other times we feel more comfortable when we blend in and become one of the crowd or one of a team. In reality, we want it both ways; we want to feel comfortable in both situations depending upon what suits us at the time.

If you watch Glee you see many examples of teens and adults who all portray the feelings associated with being different. You can see the difficult tug of war between the desire to fit in and the desire to stand out from the crowd and perform. There are always going to be social trends and social norms. There will always be the cool things to participate in and the not so cool. And that's what Glee is all about.

One thing which you can see in Glee is that even if a small number of people are similar to you this can allow you to express yourself more easily and build your confidence and strength. There may only be two or three of you who identify in a similar way, but this can be enough, even in a situation where there are hundreds of people who are "in the other cooler camp.

Another observation which could be made is that as soon as one cool kid joins the less cool group, others begin to think about you differently. You become "cooler" but the guy or girl who used to be perceived as the cool one may make the rest of his or her old associates feel threatened and reject them. It's a tough decision to step out of the cool arena and associates with the "geeks".

But in reality, those who are perceived as "geeks" are simply people who are more willing to display their differences. They are, in reality, the stronger people. They are willing to forego the natural instinct to "fit in" and instead follow their heart and their inner wisdom about what is right for them. They are true to themselves.

One question which everyone should ask themselves is would they prefer to be cool or would they like to be true to themselves and lead their own life following their own heart? And anyone who used to pick on the geeks or make fun of those who are different should ask themselves why they are doing this? Why do they feel so threatened?

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