Normal is Boring.

This was a candid photo. I had no idea the artwork behind me said NORMAL is BORING until later.

And honestly, it felt like a reminder I needed.

Normal has never really been my thing.

I laugh at inappropriate times. I don’t always use punctuation the way I’m supposed to. I’m spontaneous, and sometimes spontaneity apparently requires heaving a loaf of bread down Aisle 7 at one of my kids or my husband (assuming he’s in the mood to get nutty). I used to threaten my daughter that if she didn’t knock it off, I was going to wear MOM JEANS in public (way before mom jeans came back in style and ruined a perfectly good parenting threat)! 

And none of that is me trying to be edgy or different.

It’s just me!

I think we spend waaaaay too much time worrying about whether we’re too loud, too weird, too opinionated, too much, not polished enough, or whatever else we think might make someone “uncomfortable.”

Meanwhile … the things we’re trying to edit out are often the things people remember!

That’s one of the reasons I’ve always admired Dolly Parton. She was unfiltered, unapologetic, funny, self-aware, and never shrank herself to make other people more comfortable. The hair. The rhinestones. The humor. The honesty. She knew who she was and owned every bit of it!

Then I came across this quote from her:

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”

Well, there it is.

A life motto I didn’t even know I needed.

Because that’s really the point, isn’t it?

Figure out who you are and stop apologizing for the parts that don’t look like everybody else. Professional and personality can exist in the same person. You can be smart and ridiculous. Successful and quirky. Taken seriously and still dance in aisle seven because your song came on.

Being authentic doesn’t mean using “that’s just who I am” as an excuse to be rude. It means not sanding off every interesting edge because you’re trying to make yourself easier for everyone else to digest.

I’d rather try the weird idea. Ask the question nobody else is asking. Laugh too loudly. Dance when the song is good. Show up like me.

And one of these days, I am absolutely getting myself a coat of many colors.

Not because it’s normal.

Because it isn’t.

Maybe that artwork behind me was exactly the reminder I needed.

NORMAL is BORING.

And tucked in the bottom right corner of the photo is one more word:

HUMAN.

That may be the better reminder.

Be REAL. Own your weird. Laugh loud. Have opinions. Wear the rhinestones. Throw the Butternut down aisle 7. Find out who you are and do it on purpose!

Because being human is a whole lot more interesting than being normal.