Late night thoughts: what does it mean to be normal?

I don't get a lot of sleep. I'm sure that comes to no surprise considering that I'm a college student. However, it's not always my work that keeps me awake. Sometimes it's my own thoughts. Maybe I inherited my dad's insomnia, or maybe I've just messed up my own sleep schedule. Considering that I frequently journal anyway, I thought that it might be fun to let some of those thoughts out on here.

Today's thought: it anyone really normal? Although the term "normal" gets thrown around daily, I have never met a single normal person in my life. Although it may just be that I simply attract odd people, I strongly believe that no one in this world is or should strive to be normal.

No two people that you you meet will ever have the same personality, story, or outlook on life. Every single person has their quirks no matter how rich, poor, young, or old. I've even been friends with several sets of twins who have been completely different from each other (I am a twin myself, and I can assure you that the two of us are nothing alike). I have met people that initially seemed normal, but the more I got to know them, the more I realized that they were just as abnormal as me. In fact, the people who seem to be the most normal are often the least normal of us all.

Sometimes, putting on a front of being normal can just be a defense mechanism. Some people use it to hide pain from the past. Others may be afraid of being judged. But in my eyes, there is nothing interesting about someone who is simply "normal." Nothing sounds scarier than living a normal life with a normal job while having normal, mundane experiences. We only have one life. Why waste it being normal when you could be extraordinary?

The reality is that when people strive to be normal, they are striving for something that simply does not exist. Humans are like snowflakes. No two are alike. Some may be similar, and some may be completely different, but no two will ever be the same. But we should not strive to be the same. We are unique, crazy, emotional, messy, and sometimes irrational. However, we are also kind, curious, compassionate, generous, and intelligent. How can we put a label on a normal personality when no two are alike? Some of us are more of some of these things than others, but it is so important to contribute our unique skill sets, strengths, and interests to the world. Not only in the workplace, but in our daily lives with friends and family too.

I have some amazing people in my life, and I truly mean that. I am so grateful for all of the people who have stepped into my life at any time, even if they did not stay for very long. They have all had distinct personalities and stories that were uniquely their own, and that is what I appreciated the most about them. Imagine how boring this world would be if we were all the same!

Loving makeup does not make you self centered

Throughout my whole life, I have always considered myself to be a girly girl. I have always loved makeup, glitter, pink, you name it. When I was in middle school, I discovered makeup tutorials on YouTube, and I know that this may sound cliche, but my life was forever changed. I started small with things like eyeshadow, mascara, lipgloss, etc. My collection only continued (or shall I say continues) to grow from there. Although one may think that allowing a middle schooler to play with makeup could be damaging to a her self esteem, it actually had the opposite effect on me.

Throughout my life, I have always been the chubby girl. I never saw anyone in the media that looked anything like me. The girls on magazines were all thin and beautiful, and so were the popular girls at my school. If you did not have that body type, it was easy to feel as though you were less than enough. When I discovered makeup, something in me started to change. For the first time in my life, I had control over how I looked and how the world saw me. If I wanted to make my eyes pop, I could add a little bit of shimmer to my lids. If I felt a little sassy, I could (at first, badly attempt to) wing my eyeliner. The possibilities were endless!

For me, this was what made school bearable during a time where I was otherwise extremely insecure. Now I am happy with the way I look, makeup or no makeup. Makeup is something that I have made my own, and it is a craft that I continue to work on to this day. It is my creative escape. I guess what I'm really trying to say is that we should not make women feel as though they are shallow for loving makeup! We should not be telling young girls that they look like clowns for experimenting with a bright blue eyeshadow or a hot pink lip. This is the time in their lives where they can experiment and have fun with the way they look.