Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the word “weird.” Weird, right? If your answer to the previous question was yes, then you’re proving my theory right. The word "weird" makes no sense. People throw the word around like it’s nothing, so much so that I believe the definition has been lost in its overuse. The word manages to describe everyone and everything from the kid you went to middle school with that collected toe nail clippings in a jar to the squirrel that you always see sitting on the same bench.How is it even possible to compare a collection of toenail clippings and an overly friendly squirrel using the same word... it makes no sense!

Weird is defined by Merriam-Webster as one of two things: 1. of strange or extraordinary character or 2. of, relating to, or caused by witchcraft or the supernatural. Yet, the word "weird" has been so overused that it doesn’t even have a definition anymore. At this point, the best way to describe “weird” is a vibe that you get from someone or something - but when asked to further explain, the conversation always ends with, “They’re just weird y’know?” But the thing is, I don’t know.

We teach kids that being weird is bad, and that it’s something they should avoid being at all costs. The first insult that kids learn isn’t that Stephanie has split ends, or that Mark smells bad. It’s that Alex is weird and that you do NOT want to be like him. This “insult” doesn’t end after elementary school, it branches well into middle school, then high school, and college - and I’m fairly confident it will stay with us till we’re buried. When you call someone weird they become incredibly defensive about their actions, retorting with strong claims that they are not weird and in fact… you are! My answer to this response has become the same - “Yes, I am, and thank God.”

Everyone is weird, and the sooner the people realize this, the sooner people will become less judgemental. It doesn’t matter what makes us weird, because we all have something different about us. And if you aren’t traditionally “weird,” then you’re still weird because being too normal is also so… weird. Whether you have a weird music taste, or a weird sense of fashion, or a weird way of breaking into song - or maybe you’re weird like Todd and collect your toenail clippings in a jar - being weird is cool. We’re all a little bit weird and we should all embrace it. We’re better off that way.

I’m weird, you’re weird, we’re all weird. It’s weird if you’re not weird. It’s a perpetual cycle of weirdness.