Unique is the new Normal

I have the magnificent pleasure of volunteering with a rambunctious group of high schoolers twice a week. We get together and talk about theater. We play improv games. We plan how to make the school administrators clean up the stage. We even put on small plays for the entertainment of the faculty, staff, students, parents and friends who choose to come. (Well, we have only done one to date, but I speak in good faith that we can do another one. We've only been at this for one full school semester, after all.)

But we also get to have some pretty deep conversations, too. For example, today when I asked the question why they wanted to do theater and be a part of drama club, one of the answers that came up was that they felt like they could be themselves when they were in our club meetings. They could be wild and crazy and not have to worry about what people thought when they acted silly. One of the students observed that "normal" according to our society was the person who walked through life knowing no one's name, doing nothing of note and living in a generally neutral manner. It made me start wondering (and allow me to place some emphasis on this):

Since when did we start conditioning ourselves to believe that "normal" is this robotic lifestyle?

Everything about our school system, office system, even our system of government (ever tried watching C-SPAN? It's better than a televised PGA golf tournament to sleep to) has been immersed in this idea that we are to sit still and quiet and be reserved in all our actions. We raise our hands to speak. We stay in one position for hours at a time. We stifle laughter and embrace the tedium of the nine-to-five house-in-the-suburbs life. We do what is "expected". We do what "they" tell us is "normal".

I really don't know who "they" are, but I humbly disagree. While I do think that there is a purpose in having an order to things (students, do please continue following classroom protocols; teachers have those for a reason), I think it is imperative not to forget the joy of living!

It may seem weird to others, but if walking out into the sunshine after a long day at school makes you want to turn a circle as you walk to the car, go for it!

Feel like having an impromptu dance party in the kitchen while you're cooking supper with your kids? Go for it!

If enjoying the little things in life makes me weird, then so be it. But I don't really think it does.

Going back to the discussion I had with those wonderful high schoolers today, I admit that I fully encouraged them to act silly (in the right contexts, of course...I don't want them to get in trouble).

One of my best memories in high school was with a wonderful group of friends who all really liked hot tea. To share that with each other, we initiated something we called "High Tea in the Hallway". At the end of each semester, we would divvy out responsibilities for who brought what and gather in a corner of the main hallway of our high school. We would sit down in the floor by the lockers and have a cup of tea, and we would invite anyone who passed to join us! Did people think we were stark raving mad? Probably! But that's okay! We had great fun!

My dramatic cohorts and I did eventually conclude our discussion by observing that everyone is unique in such a way that the real "weird" phenomenon in our culture is that so many people try to be "normal".

So here's to those of us who are slowly but surely redefining "normal" by living a life full of warmth and love and even crazy silliness.