Different. It's a word that I've heard for, well; all my life. I grew up in what is considered to be "different" circumstances, being that I was raised by my white mother and by my black father. I was "different" because I didn't play basketball, I played hockey instead. I was "different" because my favorite bands were Coldplay, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Doors, Three Days Grace, etc; instead of strictly hip-hop. I drew, directed movies with my friends, created comic books, and went on adventures in my best friend's forest. I was "different" because I stood for values and a higher standard of morality than most kids and teenagers. I was "different" because I said no to many of the activities that people participate in, in those age groups. I was "different" because I WASN'T a troubled teenager, and I was "different" because I was raised in an affluent community rather than an impoverished area like I was SUPPOSED to be because I was black. I was "different" because my Dad was a snowboarder, a bodyboarder, and a triathlete. He wore a suit and tie to work everyday, and drove a Lexus, instead of wearing grease-covered overalls and got around in an old rusted out pickup truck. I was different because my Mom stayed at home and raised us, rather than go to work everyday. I was "different" because I loved art just as much as sports, I'd rather write or draw than watch SportsCenter. I'd rather watch There Will Be Blood or Fargo and analyze the screenplay, acting and directing techniques rather than watch an action packed Michael Bay movie.

I'm still different. Over 20 years, nothing has changed. I'm still the same person, with interests stretching far and wide. My purpose in writing this is to express the importance of accepting different. There is this natural concept or better yet, reaction, to something or someone being different. I'm not sure what it is entirely but I know that I have experienced it myself. It's almost like a natural reflex to jump down the throat of someone wearing something "unusual" or listening to music that isn't "mainstream". Now, within the past few years, a new word has arisen for "different" people, hipsters. Now, I have nothing against the term, but why does there always HAVE to be a term to label people? Why can't someone just be themselves without being cast out of the norm for liking things that are different? What separates an outcast from a normal active member of society is simply confidence. If you allow people to tell you, "You're different", then that's exactly what you'll be. But, if you have confidence about who you are, you can't be outcasted. If you like who you are, and are confident about who you are internally and externally, no one can put you under a microcosm or give you a label.

There are two conclusions that I've made over my 20 years of existence: people CAN'T control what they like or find attractive and life is entirely too short to try not to like something because by societies' standards it's different. Now don't get me wrong, obviously certain things can't be tolerated for obvious reasons, but those are usually interests to the most extreme. But to be into a particular kind of music, style of dress, art, sport, etc, and to be branded for that, is completely ludicrous to me. Why should it matter if a white kid from the suburbs loves hip-hop? Why should he have to be from the inner city to appreciate the lyrical talent and poetry that goes into mastering the skill of rhyme? Why can't a black kid from the hood like punk rock? Do they have to be from the suburbs to embrace the lifestyle of teenage angst? In our day and age, we are definitely evolving and becoming more accepting of all types of people, but judgments are still cast onto people all the time for being considered different. Let's stop using the word different, instead lets use, unique. Everyone is unique in their own way. Some may live similar lifestyles, may even have the same skin tone and name, but that doesn't make them the same person.

Unique, it's okay. Matter of fact, it's everyone, so it's normal. Don't freak out the next time you see a person with gauges in and full arm and neck tattoos. Don't turn your head to see a black man with a white woman holding hands. Embrace the little differences amongst individuals because that makes them, them. Embrace your little differences, because that makes you, you. I'll end with by far one of my favorite quotes of all time, by a guy that was, well, pretty bright:

"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do." - Steve Jobs