Thoughts on Being Different

I'm not your normal anything anymore.

First, I wasn't your normal Seventh-day Adventist. I toured other churches, entertained different ideas, saw things from another perspective. I started sharing radical ideas when it was my turn for worship at the start of the working day and even joined a Baptist worship team! I didn't hide away, but was open and honest about wanting more than tradition, routine and pew-warming in church. I stopped attending when it started killing me spiritually. I was told "you're your father's child", a label I wear with pride. When he pastored here, he really shook things up, and continues to challenge the traditional boundaries in Australia.

Next I wasn't your normal Christian. I didn't want to pew-warm once a week (Saturday or Sunday), didn't want to Do, but wanted to Be. Wasn't satisfied with traditional answers, SDA or otherwise. Asked questions that didn't even have any anwers. Pushed a few boundaries and developed my own set of beliefs, dropping what didn't make sense and retaining what I perceive as tried and tested truth.

And I've never been your normal parent. I refused to marry a guy I didn't love, just because I was carrying his child. I didn't bow to pressure to let his mom take over my life. I parented by instinct instead of by manual. I disciplined with a well-intentioned look or word, and was more relaxed than others who gave me hell for setting a bad example. I let my son have Pokemon and Digimon and watch The Mummy and Lord of the Rings - in spite of the age restrictions and all those "Pokemon is evil!" emails. I read him Narina and instilled a love of fantasy worlds, dragons and adventure in his mind. I threw him a night-time spook party and fielded questions from conservatively concerned parents. If his friends could do something well, his mom could do it better... :)

I'm also not your average school mom. I'm fed up with teachers who don't know what the other one is doing - and who blame us parents/kids if the child has not had adequate preperation in lower grades for certain subjects. I refused to administer Ritalin just because the teacher didn't want the extra effort of catering for a different learning style. I'm considering home-schooling as a single mom (and having to defend myself) - difficult, but do-able. I'm willing to question why boys and girls aren't taught differently according to their natures, why school has to be 12+ years of torture, why it's killing off my son's natural curiosity and desire to learn. I'm open to age-old learning methods like apprenticeships and real-life-situation learning.

I'm not your normal employee. I seek new ways to make things work, to make the job more efficient. I treat those who come to me for help or information as best I can, as the customers that pay my salary. I speak out to the bosses about potential change, new ideas, things that could and should be different. I don't go on the warpath when treated unfairly - well, not usually.... :) I use the equipment I'm given to learn and grow, as well as to work (and am thus called on for all sorts of computer crises, although I'm no expert). I stand up for my rights and ask for what I need. I keep out of gossip and am trying to be church in my workplace. I don't always agree with the generally-accepted institutional beliefs and expectations and very often feel the odd one out.

I've "copped a lot of flak" for being differeint. It used to bother me. I used to stress about it. But you know what? Now I enjoy it!