How to Be Weird (Because Normal is a Moving Target)
5 Tips to Maintaining Oddness
Growing up, I never felt normal.
Not that I even knew what “normal” was supposed to feel like. Does anyone? I doubt it. But what I did feel—deeply—was that I didn’t belong. I stood out in ways I couldn’t explain, and not always in ways I liked.
The moment I got my first whiff of success, imposter syndrome hit like a freight train. “Should I even be here?” “Am I just faking it better than most?”
Spoiler Alert: I wasn’t. But the questions stuck.
Then came adulthood, and with it, a strange and surprising realization:
Maybe being normal is a curse.
Perhaps oddness is the goal! 🎯
What’s the truth?
If you’re asking this question, you might already be weird.
Welcome. You’re in good company. Let’s embrace it on purpose.
1. Don’t Go to College
Right away… or maybe ever.
To be clear, I’m not anti-education; I’m anti-doing-things-just-because-that’s-what-you’re-supposed-to-do. And college? That’s a big-ticket item in the supposed-to-do starter pack.
If you don’t know what you want to do with your life (and who really does at 16, 17, or 18 years old?), why drop tens of thousands of dollars to figure it out in the confines of a lecture hall?
Take a gap year. Or five. Or skip it entirely and build your syllabus from podcasts, books, apprenticeships, YouTube rabbit holes, and real-world experience, and good ol’ trial and error.
Plot Twist: Some of the most resourceful, brilliant people I know never went to college. 😱 Now they’re busy running businesses, raising families, inventing stuff, and doing work they love. (And no one asked them about their GPA.)
I went to college, and I’m grateful for the discipline learned and connections made. But my degree mentally boxed me in. It told me, “You studied this. You must do only this.” The rebel inside screamed, Says who?!
If you love learning, keep learning. But don’t let the pressure to be “normal” sign you up for years of debt, stress, and existential dread if your heart's not in it.
Being weird means choosing your path, not defaulting to one that’s pre-paved.
2. Budget Your Money
Budgeting is severely underrated. I know this because of what it truly is: guilt-free permission to spend. To tell your money where to go instead of wondering where it went. To fund your dreams on purpose, not just survive.
Some folks hear “budget” and receive a side of indigestion as they begin picturing spreadsheets, ramen noodles, and soul-crushing denial. Done right, a budget provides freedom, not restriction.
It's not about saying “no” to everything fun; it's about saying “yes” to the right things: travel, side hustles, or finally starting that weird Etsy shop selling miniature diving gear for birds. (No judgment. I'm there for it!) 🤿
I use EveryDollar.com for several reasons: it’s simple, it’s my favorite price (free!), and it doesn’t judge me when I overspend on books or office supplies. Managing your money well is rare enough to be rebellious.
Being weird means being intentional.
3. Budget Your Time
Just like budgeting, tell your time where to go, or you’ll wonder where it went.
That feeling of money slipping through your fingers when you don’t track it? Time’s even sneakier. At least with money, there’s a paper trail.
Time just vanishes. Poof. Gone! 💨
Somehow, you’re four episodes into a show you don’t even like, wondering what happened to Thursday. (Guilty as charged! 🙋🏽♀️)
Budgeting your time doesn’t mean plotting out each second; it means being aware of how you spend those moments. You don’t get them back. Think of your calendar like a bank account with limited deposits. Spend accordingly.
And yes, “fun” belongs in the budget. Netflix? Hulu? Binge away—as long as you know it’s a choice, not an accident. The advantage of streaming platforms is, they tell you exactly how much time you’ll spend, like a calorie count for your attention span.
Being weird means managing time like it matters, because it does.
4. Get Acquainted with God
It’s not religion; it’s relationship.
For a long time, I thought God lived in a church building. My family dressed up, showed up, and sang the songs. “Normal” said God was a Sunday occurrence—a ritual, a checklist item, something we did out of duty, not desire.
I didn’t need a ritual—I needed a rescuer.
I didn’t need performance—I needed presence.
Getting acquainted with God isn’t about earning His love or impressing Him with expected behavior. It’s about trusting that He created you, He already knows you, He loves you dearly, and He wants to walk with you in the mess and the beauty.
It’s rarely tidy. Sometimes it’s quiet. Sometimes it’s obnoxious, complete with an ugly cry. But it’s real.
Weird people invite God into the everyday. They ask questions. They wrestle. They pray with imperfect words. In this raw and honest space, they find the kind of peace the world can’t manufacture.
Being weird means making room for God each day, not just on Sunday.
5. Talk to Yourself
Tell yourself the right things.
Whether you know it or not, you’re already talking to yourself. The only question is, what’s the message?
We would never vocalize the things we tell ourselves. Negative self-talk has a strong magnetic pull. The key to being weird (and successful) is learning to redirect the internal conversation.
Don’t focus on what you can’t do or what went wrong; tell yourself what you can do. Focus on your strengths, your possibilities, your “what ifs.”
Choose to believe you’re worthy of success, peace, and happiness, even though the world may disagree with you. Your internal dialogue is the soundtrack of your life, so make it one you want to listen to. 🎧
Being weird means speaking to yourself with love and encouragement.
The “normal” world is full of checkboxes, restrictions, and “shoulds.” But the weird world? It’s full of possibilities. Taking the road less traveled, even if it feels a little bumpy, will pay off. Your weirdness is your superpower.
Be weird: it’s where the good stuff happens! 🤪
Great article!! I kind of embrace being weird!