Phoebe in Wonderland

"At a certain point in your life, probably when too much of it has gone by, you will open your eyes and see yourself for who you are, especially for everything that made you so different from all the awful normals, and you will say to yourself, "But I AM this person", and in that statement, that correction, there will be a kind of love." 

- from the movie "Phoebe in Wonderland"

When I open my eyes (and yes, I often fear that my life is slipping by quickly without living it fully) these are the things that separate me from the norms of being a 28 year-old woman:

•  I'd rather go barefoot than EVER wear shoes

• -Because of that, I don't enjoy having shoes, so I don't buy them, nor do I have a collection of them

• I'd rather have 5 nice pieces of clothing than a closet full

• I'd rather have one bottle of lotion that soothes my soul than 10 that only soothe my sunburn

• I'd rather have time to myself than spend time climbing any ladders for others to see

• I'm not trying to be skinny, nor do I ever want to be.  I appreciate my muscles.

• I don't own lipstick, nor do I want to

• I don't wear high heels outside of fancy occasions.  I'm tall enough already.

These things do not make me better than anyone else...for who is the judge?  They do, however, make me different.  And yes, as the teacher said in "Phoebe in Wonderland" (you MUST see this movie), there is a kind of love in that.  I love the things that make me different.  I would never trade them in to be "normal".