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Fitting in vs Standing Out
My entire life I have felt a little different. I was always self conscious of this difference, and as a result, I focused much of my energy on trying to fit in. The task was foolish. You should never try being somebody else. You will always be better at being yourself.
As a child I had an exquisite memory. I remembered random little details about other people. I recall an instance when I brought up a detail to an acquaintance, and they were somewhat unnerved by it. They thought it was strange that I remembered this minute detail about them. I guess it made me seem like a creeper. I decided that my memory was holding me back from fitting in. I found myself wishing that I remembered less, in order to be more “normal”. I can now clearly see how stupid that was. I wish I still had the memory I had when I was a child. It seems like that wish of poor memory came true. YAY!
As I grew older, I realized that memory is a very powerful tool, and that people actually appreciated you remembering miscellaneous details about their life. For example, imagine a coworker Jack. You are not that close with Jack, but the last time you talked to him he mentioned that his wife was sick. Remembering this detail, you say “Hey Jack, how is your wife Carla doing? Is she feeling any better?” “She’s doing great, thanks for asking” “and the boys, how are they doing?” “Great, little Jack just started…
