hard to fit in

why is it so hard to fit in? everyone is different, yet if we are too different, we're held at a distance. go ahead and be yourself, but not too much.

i have this friend who is, well, different. actually he is just who he is. he feels this pressure to be someone he isn't. and when he is just himself, people look at him and roll their eyes. they say he’s mouthy, weird.

he was talking about this with me and he said, all my life I feel like I can't be me. i have to change, pretend -- just to fit in. if I don't, nobody will like me, and that gets real lonely. which feeds itself and I become angry at everyone. as if they don't have problems.

maybe the problem isn't being different, maybe it's intolerance.

if Jesus was the ultimate at accepting people, why does his church slide so easily into intolerance? oh, they are to young, to old, to emotional, to cold, to talkative, to many tatoos, whatever.

you know who experiences the loss? i do when I don't accept someone. i miss the richness of their personality, their humor, perspective on life. the opportunity to break out of my closed world.

go find someone who doesn't normally fit in and hang with them. you might find someone just like you.