Different doesn’t mean bad

Here are a few fun facts about me:

• I like TV shows that probably should be embarrassing for a 23-year-old woman…like The Vampire Diaries and Pretty Little Liars.
• I read almost exclusively YA novels. I sometimes venture out into the adult world, but I spend a lot of time in YA land.
• I love showtunes. I am most likely to be listening to showtunes on Pandora or Spotify than anything else. My current jam is Shrek the Musical. I will listen to that music all day long.
• I am in love with Team Starkid. They’re a theatre group. They’re best-known for their Harry Potter parody musicals. They’ve done a lot of other parodies, like a Batman show, one that they say is “like The Little Mermaid but in space,” an Aladdin/Wicked parody, a Star Wars parody and a show based off of the video game The Oregon Trail. I think they are all creative geniuses, and I support them every chance I can…meaning I’ve been to Chicago four times in the last year and a half going to their shows.

And here’s the thing:  I won’t apologize for any of it.

I realize that my tastes are different than most. But that shouldn’t be a bad thing.

When can we start appreciating the differences in everyone?

Happiness

Today, all I have to say is this: Stop comparing yourself to others.

There is someone who will ALWAYS have it better than you. There will always be someone who has what you want. And you can keep harping on the fact that it’s not fair. That you deserve it more. You can keep repeating whatever words you use to console yourself over, and over, and over.

But it won’t change the fact that they have it and you don’t. Whatever it is. Whether it’s the job you want, the promotion you deserved. Maybe it’s the fact that that person is happily engaged and you’re stuck in a relationship you’re not sure is going anywhere.

So stop harping on why they have it and you don’t. You will always be the biggest obstacle you need to overcome.

And never, ever make the other person feel bad about what they have. Because they likely know how lucky they are. There’s enough sadness in this world without everyone bringing each other down.

The only thing that will do is ruin a friendship. I once told a friend that she wasn’t allowed to get engaged before I did. But not just that. I said that I thought becoming engaged after only a year was crazy – after she’d told me that they’d likely get engaged after being together a year. In all honesty, I don’t think it’s crazy. I just had been in a relationship for more than 3 years and didn’t think it would be right for someone else to be engaged so quickly when I wasn’t. Luckily, my friend’s a lot nicer than I am.

Stop focusing on what others have.

Start focusing on you.