Someone once pointed out something funny to me. Whenever I'm in a conversation and one of my friend's names comes up, I say "oh I love _____, he/she is so funny." I thought about it for a second and I realized she was totally right. I never even realized it but all of my friends are funny.

I don't mean funny like Steve Carrell or Chris Rock funny, although some of them are. When I say funny, I mean they make me laugh. Yeah, I hear how that sounds like the same thing, but it isn't.

The synonym for my definition of funny that I commonly use to describe my friends is “ridiculous." The people that intrigue me, who I want to maintain a friendship with, I think are completely and utterly ridiculous.

Now, I’m not only friends with one specific type of person. Let me be very clear, I am not describing here the ridiculousness of the crazy class clown who is always making a fool of themselves to make others smile, although again, some of my friends are that person. What I mean when I say all of this — i.e. funny, or ridiculous, is simple.

If you do something unexpected, something that most people wouldn’t do or consider normal, it shocks people. Some people become very uncomfortable at the notion that you feel comfortable doing or saying something so outside their realm of human behavior. They can’t rationalize for themselves how you exist as a person. Those vanilla boxed up people, they think you’re a freak or at the very least, socially unacceptable.

I say you’re ridiculous. and I love it.

When you do something unexpected or "not normal,” it isn’t you being irrational or inept. It is simply you being you. Who cares about what society tells us we need to do when we have this beautiful wacky soul inside of us that is driving our minds and bodies to be a certain way.

Just to clarify, I’m not saying if you believe your soul is driving you to be a murderer you should go do that. I don’t mean anything that extreme or actually not acceptable. I just mean certain positive oddities that certain people have that others wouldn’t consider normal. But before we moved forward I just needed to clarify that I am not endorsing behavior problematic past people thinking you’re a little crazy.

So forget what other people think. The thing I value most in people is when they don’t care to be normal. If I say you’re ridiculous, you should be proud of that. All that is, is my recognizing that your main concern in life is to not bother yourself with others- to simply be you.

A couple of days ago I was speaking with someone I see value in for this reason and he did something that dripped with his uniquely different essence. So I acknowledged it by saying “you’re ridiculous.” His response was, “I’m trying to normalize.”

Normal is just a force that pushes back against our “Me-ness,” your "You-ness." So forget normalizing. Follow your soul. Be ridiculous. You are you and that should be worn like a badge of honor.