The cost of being different

Around seven billion humans walk the earth, calling it their home, representing a variety of people, and they haven’t always got along with each other that well. Everybody is different. Sadly, differences in the way humans act have caused grave problems for mankind, including suffering and death. I cannot tell why people are so different. But the history of mankind has been far from pretty.

When I was growing up, I thought believing in the simple phrase, ‘I am different’ would help me sail through the winds of life. It was my 22nd birthday a few days ago, and yet, I am still struggling to make people let me be me. It is hard, but it is worth trying. We are gripped in the shackles of the hope to achieve people’s approval; little do we know that this way, we miss out on the larger-than-life moments that we can experience via being ourselves.

I would have accepted myself for being different, however, I am usually at crossroads if my ‘being different’ offends people around me.

In the eyes of an individual trying to break free and be themselves, I have to put up with a lot!

“For a child your age, you talk and ask too much.”  My response: well, maybe, the talkative self is never nervous in a social setting or even impulsive enough to be not thinking over every sentence one has to utter. “You are smiling, even after somebody has scolded you.” All I can say is, that is how I react and it’s an instinct, I swear. “How can you love Zardari?” You can’t deny the fact that his smile is just beautiful!

The sentences above have conveniently caused a whir in my mind and they also generously accompany me through sleepless nights.

My note to everyone reading this: you have to be gallant in order to stay the way you are because you will receive scorn from people. Only if you are ready to accept yourself the way you are will the world accept you for who you are.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 7^th, 2013.