Tag: #society

Struggles of being the ‘Weird One’

If there was a ratio analysis between a normal mundane and the ‘Weird one’, what would it be? Some would say it is half of the other or some would find being weird as abnormal, so naturally the count for the abnormal or the ‘weird one’ would be more. Because everyone in this world is weird in their way. Being weird is not being abnormal. It is being the most random version of yourself. To you, it would be something you do in your everyday life, whether it is biting the end of a pencil or singing and using your hairbrush as a mic. It is the perspective of the other that makes you weird. The other person would look at your pencil and would probably not use it thinking ‘what a weird person would do something like this, or someone would walk in your room while you are singing with your hairbrush and judge you by calling you a ‘weirdo’. That’s when you realize I am the weird one.

The struggles of being the weird one is nothing but a simple complexity of your own doing. Being weird is the new normal. It is good to be a different person; a unique idea that makes you stand out in the crowd. But that’s when the word ‘weird’ gets you thinking. Not being weird is a task that you hold every day. It is difficult for the weird one to not get judged. People judge and criticize those but do not think that they too have the struggles of being the weird one.

Everyone has their own battle that they have to face, their own obstacles they have to overcome. In such times being weird is the only sane way out. Whether it is using your signature dance moves which only you can do or if it is reading the spoiler of the book before reading it entirely. That is the hit you get by considering weirdness. Sometimes or for some people most of the time being the weird one is a compliment. It is what makes them different from other human beings or even aliens for that matter. The most interesting fact about being weird is that it is original. It comes from within a human, it is not made up to live up to anybody’s expectations. It is yours and yours to keep. Every individual has their weird abilities and they have full copyright to let them be theirs.

So to all the weird ones out there, be whatever you want to be. Be the weird neighbor who listens to old classical music. Be the one who moonwalks but not in reverse. Be the one who wears unmatched outfits to their office. Be the weird one because the struggles of being a weirdo are not much as they seem. They are just mere distractions to not being yourself. The struggles of being the weird one are not just struggles, they are trophies of being the best version of yourself.

WHERE IS YOUR WILL TO BE WEIRD?

-JIM MORRISON

The Right Way of Enjoying Your Freedom

Freedom is a powerful word. It is the basic right of every individual and no one can deny it. But are you using your freedom in a proper way? Have you thought that your sense of freedom might deprive that of others? A G Gardiner’s ‘On the Rule of the Road’ is an essay teaching the readers on the right way of enjoying freedom.

The essayist narrates a situation where an old lady walks down the middle of a street ignoring the traffic rules and other vehicles. This causes a great confusion and she doesn’t seem to care about it. It is a dangerous situation where accidents can happen and people can get hurt. But when it was pointed that she should walk in the pavement not on the road, she replies that it is her liberty to walk wherever she wants. Just like this woman, there are many who seem to take advantage of their ‘liberty’. What we need to realize is if everyone does whatever they want in whatever way they like because it is their liberty, “then the end of such liberty would be universal chaos”. 

“Everybody would be getting in everybody else’s way and nobody would get anywhere. Individual liberty would have become social anarchy. There is a sanger of the world getting liberty-drunk…”

So, the traffic rules are made to ensure that everyone can enjoy their liberty. When the policeman at the intersection directs the traffic, he “is the symbol not of tyranny, but of liberty”. If you can’t understand the statement, think of this situation as the essayist provides. You may be in an urgency to reach your destination, but when the policeman stops you, you may think he is curbing your liberty. But, if you reflect on it, you will understand that if he doesn’t stop you, he won’t stop anyone and everyone will clash into each other. 

“You have submitted to a curtailment of private liberty in order that you may enjoy a social order which makes your liberty a reality”. 

“Liberty is not a personal affair only, but a social contract”. Does the statement mean your freedom is limited by society? No, you are free to do whatever you like unless it doesn’t affect that of others. You have both personal liberty and social liberty. You may dress however you want, dye your hair, eat whatever you wish, like and dislike at your will because it is your liberty. No one can question your personal liberty. Likewise, the other person has the liberty to differ from you. You have your own kingdom where you can do whatever you wish. But, once you step out of the kingdom, your “personal liberty of action becomes qualified by other people’s liberty”. 

You may want to practice music in the middle of the night, you may do so if you are on the top of Mt. Everest. If you do so in your house, you are disturbing the sleep of your family members. If you do so in the streets, you are disturbing your neighbours and they will object to this. Their objection will remind you that your liberty of practicing music is interfering with their liberty to sleep peacefully and so it shouldn’t be done. 

“There are a lot of people in the world, and I have to accommodate my liberty to their liberties”.

We often forget this and find fault with others. We should be considerate to the rights and feelings of others because it is the “foundation of social conduct”. We should stop focusing only on our liberties and start considering that of others and the responsibilities that come along with them. We need law to limit some of our liberty in order to ensure greater liberty.

“Liberty is not a personal affair only, but a social contract”