Misfit


“Try that one” my friend said, pointing to a bright shirt. “Maybe it will fit better” he joked.  The garment he pointed to was hi-vis yellow, with purple stripes and glow in the dark green poka-dot. Of course I was going to try the shirt on: I’ll do anything, just as long as it affects the other person more. I’ll eat insects, just because it grosses others out. Side note: always remove grass hopper legs prior to eating them, otherwise the legs get stuck in your teeth.
Grabbing the shirt off the rack, I slipped into the dressing room.
Throwing the door open, I popped out with a twirl. “Nope, doesn’t fit.” He said, shielding his eyes with his hand. “It makes you look too crazy”.
“Crazy?” I asked. “I was crazy once, they put me in a rubber room, it was filled with rats, I hate rats, they make me crazy!” I said shouting the last part. “Crazy?” I asked again, as if for the first time. “I was crazy once, well they said I was. They put me in a room, it was rubber, but it was filled with rats! I hate rats. They make me crazy.”
My friend was starting to walk away. Shaking his head, pretending not to know me. He really should have known not to get me started.
“Crazy?” I asked with a grin. He knew this could go around and around all day.
People in the store were staring to stare.  They couldn’t see him.
Maybe I was crazy. Crazy for being wild. Crazy for trying on a bright shirt. Crazy for talking to myself. Maybe I was a misfit after all. But when a shirt doesn’t fit, you change the shirt. You don’t change yourself to fit the shirt. So when I don’t fit into society, that’s OK. Maybe it’s not me that needs to change. Maybe they are the misfits.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Worth Every Penny: A Luxury Experience

Image
Have you ever gotten home and then wondered why you bought something? I am sure everyone in North America has experienced a little bit of buyer’s guilt at some time. Maybe you thought you needed the item, but then realized you didn’t, or maybe you thought the product would help you in some way, but it didn’t fit into your lifestyle, or maybe you really did need and use the item, but the high cost made you regret it a little bit. Marketing is the process of convincing people that a product will enhance their life in some way. Each industry approaches this in different ways. Most industries are happy to maintain a portion of the market share, as long as they are not losing ground. In fast food, it’s so competitive that if they have even one quarter without market share growth, they consider that a loss. Honestly, though, everyone has to eat. Fast food marketing is just a matter of convincing customers to fill their need at a specific chain. It’s not like convincing them to buy so
Read more

The Art of Productivity

Image
Productivity is rare. Those who do manage to accomplish impressive tasks appear to be superhuman! Do productive people hold some ancient secret? The secret to productivity isn’t locked in a vault or hidden in the mind of a monk, but it is shrouded by misinformation and hampered by human nature.  Most people realize that food fuels our ability to do work. Our physical energy is a finite resource: there’s only so much of it. Likewise, the mental energy which powers our ability to focus and be creative will run out. Because there are many draws on our mental fuel, it is wise to be deliberate about maintaining enough brainpower for the pursuits we care about.  Why You Need Mental Energy When pursuing productivity, it can be confusing why sometimes we are able to be effective and other times we aren’t. It is hard to track because our motivation, focus and creativity are powered by an intangible force. Have you ever wanted to work on a project, but instead you procrastinated a
Read more

Year of Reading: Series Introduction

Image
 At the beginning of 2021, I set an audacious goal. I wanted to read one book a week for the entire year. Several factors played into this goal. a.        I’d heard that the average CEO reads 50 books a year. Some faulty logic told me that by reading 50 books in a year I’d be just like a CEO. It’s like saying “all pro tennis players own a tennis racket, so if I own a tennis racket, I’ll be a pro”. Now let’s be clear, I didn’t actually think reading 50 books would make me a CEO, but I was attracted by the habits of CEOS. b.        I noticed that I was reading at a pace of about one book per week, so continuing seemed doable. c.        I noticed that there were a few books I repeatedly borrowed from the library because I enjoyed them so much and wanted to come back to the information they provided. But I’m so cheap that I never buy books. So I made myself a deal: if I read a book a week, I’d let myself buy 12 books. This too was a mental trick. I could have just as easily bought
Read more