| Insanity: Everyone Needs a Little (Sometimes More) |
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| Feature Articles - Opinion | ||||||||
| Written by Anna Larson | ||||||||
| Tuesday, 07 October 2008 | ||||||||
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Everyone is insane -- let's get that straight right off the bat. You might have a 4.0 or the career you always dreamed of, a normal house in the suburbs, the love of your life, a decent grip on reality, or none of those, but regardless -- you, yes you, are insane too! You're just as insane as the crazy cat lady down the street that everyone shuns, the schizophrenics struggling with themselves in treatment, and all of the annoying, ignorant people you know that you doubt have any sense whatsoever. Now that I'm sure many of you are dazzled by my optimistic outlook on life and humanity, and others are questioning my sanity, we'll get to the point. There is no such thing as 'normal' in life. There is only the weird factor. When people are grouped too much, as we often are, individual mentality gets pushed to the side, to the point where a group appears singular, rather than a sum of the persons included. So why is this bad? It shows in generalizations, such as "Lawyers are greedy, arrogant liars," and "Poets are always vegetarian drug addicts." Stereotypes of the like irritate me -- not because they are mean or inappropriate, but because they rob people of their unique and crazy quirks. It's common knowledge that we shouldn't judge people. We'll eventually discover what sort of insane tics each person has after we get to know them. Insanity is variety, and variety is the spice of life. By letting our quirks show, we add flavor to our lives and those of the people around us. Do you know someone that constantly laughs, even when a situation isn't remotely humorous; or always checks closets and the shower for murderers upon leaving or entering a residence, or something of the like? Would they be the same if they didn't subscribe to these little strange specialities? In a world so high-strung and bound for perfection, how could anyone come off sane anyway? Our idiosyncrasies comfort us from the everyday, rigorous societal norms into the safety of our own strange and familiar patterns. Maybe you find watching Gilmore Girls upside down while blowing bubbles and popping them with your toes very relaxing -- there's nothing sane about that -- and that's okay. Maybe spending eight hours in the office, five days a week, at a job you merely tolerate isn't all that sane either, perhaps even less so. Do you know a child that asks their teacher for more homework? How about a guy that sings while he sits on the toilet doing his business? Are those things normal? The point is -- no one can ever define what is "normal". We can only deduce the things in our lives that make us happy, alleviate our stress and make this crazy world a little easier to swallow.So the next time you come across a particularly "crazy" relative, friend, or acquaintance (or even notice the truly weird things you do!), learn to appreciate the oddities for what they are -- the things that make us unique and interesting -- not as something to be corrected based on society's restrictive and over-bearing point-of-view.
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