Friday, March 25, 2011

Celebrating Difference

I have just read a beautiful post over at Jimmy's place, this man always has the most amazing power with words.

In his post he mentions a wee girl with a lazy eye. Now, when we are kids, and more likely than not into adulthood, we always have something that we don't like about ourselves. Something we feel hinders us in the popularity stakes. I remember a ginger haired lass at my primary school that had cheeks that were just so white and round that I used to have daydreams about stabbing them, I don't know why. Admittedly, she pissed me off no end, she was one of those "I'm so much better than you" types.

There were kids at school who had all sorts of inflictions and mine was a lazy eyelid. I still have it. At four it was quite obvious:


My left eyelid just doesn't like to rise up to the occassion. It was pointed out in front of me a hundred times as a child, maybe that is where the insecurity about it stemmed from. I also had a great lisp, which a year of speech therapy corrected, apart from when the wines or vodkas or rums have been flowing. Funnily enough the eyelid gets lazier when those thirst quenchers have been flowing too. I imagine I'm quite the hottie after a session - one eyelid nearly shut and lisssssssssping my arssssssssssseeeeeeee off.

The whole point of this inane rambling is that we all have something that makes us feel a bit different, a bit left out, a bit strange... My immediate family all have something. Blair has psoriasis, he hates it with a passion, it stops him wanting to wear shorts in public in summer, it is a terrible thing for him. Peta (12) has glasses, a ski jump nose and her right eye is twice as blind as her left so as soon as she takes her glasses off it turns inwards (eg in the swimming pool at school). Ben (10) has a port wine style birthmark that runs up his right leg from his little toe all the way to his bum cheek. Phoebe (5) has food issues and also has an incontinence problem, poor wee thing, and finally, wee Sian (4) - bless her cotton socks - has big ears, they stick out and she will undoubtedly insist on hair covering her ears when she is older.

When I think of most people I know we all have something that is considered abnormal. So what is normal? No one is normal. Not bloody one of us is considered normal yet there is a constant push for everyone to look and act "normal". I say it's time to celebrate our differences and realise these little things are what makes us all unique. New York.

What makes you feel abnormal?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

ahhh webbed 2nd & 3rd toe; dickee right knee & foot - used to walk like a duck, & was teased mercilessly as a kid because of the way I ran - had to wear big block shoes etc etc; my lame rhyming LOL!???;

Plumbing boy's ears stuck out so much his parents got them pinned when he was in primary school.

My sis, hated her red hair & freckles as a kid & don't ever dare call her a ranga, fanta pants or any such thing or she's likely to punch your lights out still!!!!!

My ma has a lazy eye too!!! & her jaw clicks very loudy when she eats....

KJ said...

Oh man, Jules, we are fkn kismet twins, or summink!

I was born with a lazy eye. It used to turn inwards, and I was teased something awful as a kid.

I had an operation to correct it, but the damage was done. I was forever known as the kid with the wonk eye.

Later, my eye turned again. This time outwards! Fuck me, I looked like a half pissed crazy woman, and whenever I got crook, it almost disappeared.

Again, I had another op...only this time I was fully awake for it.

NEVER, EVER again.

I tend to stutter or lose my ability to talk properly when I get upset. Which only makes me more angrier.

Jules said...

AlleyCat: Stop it, you're turning me on with your hotness. LOL

Ute: You, me and the Cat, would make a right trio of hot stuff. LOL. The hospital offered Peta an operation to correct her in turn but said that when she had her glasses on it would turn then.. WTF is the point. She did patching when she was little and just hopes for contacts when she's old enough to look after them.

Anonymous said...

we are family.....well, I don't have the matching eye tho!

Poor Peta - hope she gets her contacts one day.

savannah said...

my teeth. i don't think i have one picture where you can see them! xoxoxo

Jimmy said...

I've just been over to that fella's blog. The man's a terrible drunk, avoid his place as though the divil himself was waiting to greet you with brimstone breath and cheap cocktail sausages on wee sticks.

Nice photie hen, a pretty wee doll you are.

Jayne said...

Excellent post Jules :-) My jaw gives an almighty cracking sound regularly & I have to 'adjust' food in my mouth sometimes, otherwise people might set their watches to the clicking noise that eminates from the depths of my gob!

Thanks for the comment on my blog hon - I've given it alot of thought & I really will take your advice. I'll be in touch :-)

Sara said...

Love this, just accidentally found your blog while commenting on Shauna's. Your 'earthquake' comment made me think we might be from the same city.
I have a gap between my front teeth. I used to hate it, dream of braces and refuse to smile, but now I quite like it.
I also used to have terrible eyesight, but lasik fixed that.

Marie said...

Where to begin ?!

- I have a gap between my two front teeth and I despise it!
- My right ear is squished/ has a deeper fold, and that side of my face is flatter from being squished in the womb.
- My middle toe on my left foot grew crooked.

:)