Why we should embrace weirdness

I'm sitting here staring at my notebook in which I'm writing my new story. It's going quite well, but at the moment I'm stuck and am trying to find a way to solve it. Being stuck sucks. Imagine you're in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and you get stuck somewhere. That would probably be a very awkward and unpleasant moment.

So as I was staring at this blank page before me, I was thinking about how weird it must actually seem to most people that I sit here and make things up, hoping that one day these stories will be read and inspire others to also make things up. Speaking of which, I figure that people must have thought me to be rather weird and strange for my entire life.
As long as I remember, I've been different from other kids. I had no interest in dolls and the only reason I had a Baby Born was because everybody had one. I bought a Furby because it was totally cool back then but nearly threw it out of the window after it talked to me at night. When I did get interested in things, such as my Pokemon obsession, I had a tendency to linger in it for too long. My peers had moved on to the next best thing, while I still imagined that when I grew up, I'd be a Pokemon trainer.

I was the kid who always lived in a fantasy world. Even then I made up stories and would draw whatever popped up in my head. I wasn't a people's person and I much rather spent my time around dogs. I guess I'm still more fond of dogs then of most people. At least dogs can never hurt you.
As I grew older, and my life became harder, I realised that all the colour in my drawings were gone. All the happy words I once wrote were turned into sad ones. I still have those notebooks and it is still heartbreaking to read the thoughts 9-year old me had.

Then I went to high school and I tried to change. I wanted to fit in. I never did and was made fun of. I guess because they did not understand me and I did not understand them. For 3 years I tried to fit in and was only made to feel more like an outsider. It wasn't until those I thought were my friends hurt me so dramatically, that I found people like me. They had been there all along. And even though we had only casually been involved before, they opened their arms and welcomed me. That was when I realised that even when you're different, there are always people like you wherever you go. You just have to open your eyes to find them.

I'm glad I'm done with my teenage years. I'm happy I'm done with fighting to fit in. I'm happy that I found so many people who were a bit different and strange like myself. Who look at the world in a different way. I guess, if we all embrace each other's weirdness, this world would be a better place.

I'm thankful that I dared to open up and be myself. I'm also thankful for the people who have crossed my path since I have done so. Some of them have stuck around for 10 years already and others I have just met. But every single one of them has left footprints in my heart and I hope that we will have many more years of weirdness to share together.

Now I shall stop being all emotional and continue with trying to write my story!