As this writing kicks off the start of my new column in the Gryphon Gazette, I wanted to share a bit about myself and, at the same time, share with you one of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned over my high school years: each and every one of us is weird and that is what makes us all normal. 

For years, I’ve struggled with understanding friends. I’ve tried so hard to figure out what other people want and what qualifies a person as “friend-worthy”. I hid the fact that my mom owns a llama farm or the fact that I really do like Nickelback or how I really do like sharing “feelings” or how my eating habits have been anything but good. I tried to hide the things that I thought might seem weird. But for years, I felt incomplete and I began to realize that all of these quirks weren’t weird. They were me.

So, as I became a senior, I decided that I have the power to choose my friends and started to embrace the fact that I really don’t enjoy big parties and I don’t have to be social every day and I’m not called to be just like everyone else. I enjoy spending time with the people I love. I get a rush from working out. I think traveling is the coolest. I am passionate about meeting new people and learning about their lives: their desires, their dreams, and their struggles. I’m not perfect. Nobody is, but we all try and we are all human.

I know this all seems a bit emotional, but let’s get real: high school is hard and full of ups and downs. College applications are due, there are papers that need to be written, your parents are nagging, you’ve got friendships to maintain, boyfriends or girlfriends to please, you are searching for self-confidence, you’re figuring yourself out and trying your best. However, as you go through all of this, don’t lose yourself. Remember your passions. Fight for what you love. Embrace who you are.

Remember, if you are going through something difficult, it’s not abnormal; all of those struggles and trials and difficulties are moments that makes us who we are. At the end of the day, you are in control of your own life, and you should be the one who lives it (not that other person that tries to impress everyone else). You’ve got the power to love your inner weirdo and to let it out for the world to see.

Finally, there’s no need to overthink things. You know yourself, whether you believe it or not. And the real you has always been there. The real you (that is, the weird you) is whatever causes you to laugh uncontrollably, whatever makes you feel at peace deep inside, whatever inspires you to experience more. Whatever you love, love it fully. Whatever your passions are, follow them. Whoever you are, rock it.

So, as you go through your days, embrace the Nickelback on your playlist or the llamas in your backyard. Those are part of what make you weird and, at the same time, so normal.