Personal Blogging – To be recognisable or to be unique?

From a young age we’re all taught that we’re special little snowflakes.

Those who are loved by their parents are the speciallest of special to them – those who aren’t learn that they stand out for other reasons. And adapt. And those who don’t pay attention are still slapped around with a sense of ‘being’ at some point. We all learn that we’re our own person, one way or another. There’s no escaping that knowledge.

Uniqueness, in all its forms, is quickly prompted and imprinted on our souls as one of the greater goods. Being yourself, whoever that may be, in all its colorful appearances, a lifegoal-to-be-achieved. And some go far on their journey to be (or become) unique.

I applaud that.

Yet, simultaneously, the world seems to force us into the strict corset of sameness through the same peers that want us to be ourselves. Ourselves, but befitting the current (increasingly broad) mold none the less. Still…uniqueness, when it (actually) shines through and puts you apart is crushed. It’s ok to be unique within the acceptable borders. It’s not ok to be different. An important distinction.

A struggle for some. A fight for others. An impossibility for a few.
Never for me, luckily.

Let me clarify.
When it comes to ‘the world‘ – I don’t feel that my kind of uniqueness fits with the mold. It is a ‘differentness’ on many levels (is that weird to say about yourself).

But luckily – I learned how to fit it regardless. Masking, a term most commonly used when speaking in the autistic spectrums (not that I have any diagnose, label or experience in that field whatsoever) – is a very valuable skill. Looking at the world around you, seeing the patterns (and being boggled by them) but shaping yourself after them (putting on a mask) and adopting them as your own can be invaluable. Although doing so always kind of feels like ‘work‘. It’s a useful skill though, regardless of the energy it costs to apply. And one, I think, you also benefit of as a reader of this blog.

I’m often told that what I write makes the normal seem special. That I shine a different light on simple concepts to make them stand out. That what I write is so very recognisable to many, without them knowing it was there to be recognised. And they are all lovely compliments.

It’s a skill born from necessity, that way of looking at the world. When you learn, from a young age, to ‘try’ and see things the way ‘other people‘ might see them, you learn to start small. Take tiny building blocks and stack them together into a bigger picture of normalcy. And then fit yourself into that picture. Or at least – that’s how it has always felt to me.

When I blog it gives me a sort of freedom that I don’t generally get. It allows me to make those connections from simple to deep and to follow trains of thought that I usually keep on the back tracks (for being unacceptable) without being judged for it. Hell, I might be praised for it even.

I can jump from one topic to the next without explaining the road taken and my words can make the sense I think they need to without having to be defended. They can be recognisable if they are, or unique if they aren’t, but in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter.

My space, my words, my ramblings. I don’t have to fit a mold when I blog, or try to (not) be unique.

I can just be unapologetically me.

And that. That is the number one reason why I keep a personal blog – regardless of all the further options, perks, benefits and consequences. Freedom to be. Whatever.

So hey. Thank you for reading me. Really.

Ps.
Even if you’re lurking. Even if you’re just reading along. Even if you click these links just because the Facebook stories with the blue ‘unwatched’ rings annoy you?
I see you! I welcome you! I know you!
(Not in a ‘scary-hiding-in-the-bushes kinda way)
And you’re appreciated! Regardless of your judgments. Thank you!

<sub>PS. Wanna read more about the ins and outs and hows and whys of personal blogging round here? Click on, brave warrior, click on!
<sup>* Personal blogging – Risky Business
* Personal blogging – Dirty little secret
* Personal blogging – To be recognisable or to be unique?
* Personal blogging – Out for the count
* Personal blogging – Listless
* Personal blogging – The science of stars
* Personal blogging – The personal touch
* Personal blogging – The Voice
* Personal blogging – Patterns
* Personal blogging – Art of repetition
* Personal blogging – Choices</sup></sub>