Dare to be! Why being different is absolutely ok?

The other day at the office I got a very interesting compliment (or not?): “you look like an anachrony”.  My eyes widened and my very kind colleague who realized that I did not know the word, kindly explained that it was something out of time and space, something that does not belong to the general picture of the reality. He was referring to my outfit. I mean purple boots, can barely fit in any landscape. I googled the word and here’s what I got:

• Anachrony: discrepancy between the order of events in a story and the order in which they are presented in the plot.
  Anachronies are either flashbacks or flashforwards.
• Anachronous: antiquated, antique, out-of-style, vintage

If we don’t take the definitions ad-literam, the point is that I was too different. Now it was my decision to take it as a compliment, but honestly I don’t know if it was intended so. I was wearing an apparently vintage outfit, but it was the most up-to-date of the possible vintages. It was a mix between Valentino and Balenciaga inspired esthetics and, in my opinion, a courageous yet conservative styling. Now that I made sure to explain my legitimacy as a fashionable “fashion blogger”, let us move forward to the subject of this post. Because this is not what I want to talk about, and, after all, the beauty stays in the eye of the viewer and it is absolutely humane to like an image or not and even more humane and grounded not to be interested in this superficial world of fashion.

Aside from the fact that my outfit was definitely not out-of-style, it is interesting how people see the differences. Here in Scandinavia, a neo-socialistic society, it seems almost criminal to be different, and to stand out in one or another way. But what Scandinavians don’t know is that i come from a culture where “being like others” is a “totem” we all pray at. In Romanian there is a collocation defining this cohesion between man and society: “ca lumea”- used for defining the “good” and the “normal”, and literally meaning “like other people”. Well, I always hated when I was told that I should be “like others” because I simply wanted to be “like me”. So I am more than used to stand it. I have been doing it my entire life, and if I come to think about it, “stand” is not the right word, because it was absolutely effortless, I was just being myself. I was allowing me to be myself.

Geek, burnout, emo. Do these words ring a bell to you? You might have used them to label someone around you. Or it could just be you (an old-time geek here!) and you feel that you do not fit into the general picture. Well, this might be frustrating, but here’s the other side of the medal, here’s why it is good and even encourageable to be different.

1. It’s intriguing, eye-catching and draws attention. You cannot pass unobserved and this is cool, because sometimes we all wanna see a brownie in a sea of candies.
2. Congrats! That means that you are courageous, and we all know that for big actions, you need courage. So you are more likely to do them than 99% of the population.
3. Being different means that generic rules do not necessarily apply to you. It might be tricky sometimes, but it forces you to be innovative and create your own rules. You are a forward-mover!
4. Unique and truly historic movements have never been done by common people. History is written by genuinely crazy, out-standing identities.
5. You are just a breath of fresh air. Could you imagine eating one food for the rest of your life? Boring.

I truly believe that we are all different and everybody can stand-out in one or another way. It is just that some people have the courage, and some don’t. Some people are fully aware of their personality and they just let it exist, breath, live without permanently shading it away. Can you be one of them?

See Also

The only place I’d rather be

Outfit details: & other stories safari trousers, sweater, and bag
Zara shoes, Stradivarius glasses