Be you, no matter what

"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square hole. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."— Apple Computer Inc.

I LOVE this. If you are different, be different. I dare you. I want you to be YOU, no matter what. Don't imitate so you'll fit in. Don't agree with what someone says because you think you don't have any other option. If you disagree, then disagree! You have a right to your own opinion. You have a place in this world, like everyone else.
I jokingly call myself "crazy" sometimes. I've done things that make me shake my own head when I think about them later. Perfect I am not. But I will never claim to be. It's taken me a long time to learn and understand that being myself  is better than being a follower, especially when you really don't want to do whatever it is the people are doing that you're following.
I'm not really crazy by the way. =)
I have acquaintances that I see are afraid to speak their mind or give their opinion of whatever is being discussed at the time, for fear of being ridiculed or not "fitting in". It's okay to want to be liked, I get that. We all want to be liked and fit in to a certain degree. But be brave people! You count too. I have to be fair and say that I've fallen into the very thing I just described several times. I'm not an attention grabber, I never have been. I don't have to have "the floor" or do all of the talking, or provide every opinion I have, it's just not my thing. I really like hearing what others think about things, their "take" on life and everything it entails.
I recently had dinner with someone I don't know that well, obviously thats the point of having dinner. Just sayin. Good conversation? Hmmm. Well, it was fine. But I found myself thinking, almost immediately, why are you asking me questions when you're not letting me finish my sentences? I've never understood why some people do this. It's not courteous first of all, and secondly, it makes it apparent that the person doesn't really want to know the answer, they're just going through the motions of what society has deemed a good way of getting to know each other better, dinner and conversation. I remember smiling and thinking, good God I could just answer everything with MAN I LIKE PICKLES and I bet he wouldn't notice. (lol) I didn't laugh out loud then but I am now.
I think it's really cool when I see people have the gift of being in a conversation with someone, making the other person feel like they are the most important person in the room. I've seen this many times, and I so enjoy bumping into it, especially by accident. It's almost like seeing a random act of kindness, another love of mine. Doing something in which there is no return, other than the knowing that you helped someone today.
I wake up every day hoping I can be better than the day before. I fail sometimes.

But on the days I succeed? They're like receiving these every day:

I think tomorrow we should have some kind of eggs for Easter brunch at Tiffanys, it's tradition!

I'll see you soon,

Tiffany