Be the one that stands out

Unique among many
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Walk through any forest and amid the riot of chaotically growing life, one thing will always stand out from the rest.

Of course, what that so-called "one thing" might be is entirely up to you. This tree, seemingly pirouetting alone, away from the others, called out to me. Someone else might see, or even feel, something else.

The beauty of individuality, no?

I'm reminded of high school, where individuality was less celebrated than mocked, where those who stood out from the crowd were rather simply shunned. The cliques determined who got in and who didn't, and getting in meant shaping yourself into a mirror image of the others.

I'm glad the forest doesn't work this way. Life, too.

Because being on the outside has always been infinitely more fun. And that "one thing"? No one is sufficiently qualified to define or enforce it in the first place.

So go be you. And surround yourself with others who get it, too.

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