Embracing my inner eccentric

There is a book entitled Eccentrics by David Weeks. I have not personally read it but I did peruse a blog post that mentioned it. In fact, the blogger included an excerpt written by Weeks that lists 15 traits of an eccentric. I found the list fascinating because many of the traits apply to me. The list can be found below with my comments added in bold :


•Nonconforming: YES

•Creative: YES

•Strongly motivated by curiosity: Absolutely

•Idealistic: wants to make the world a better place and the people in it happier: This definitely describes me

•Happily obsessed with one or more hobbies: Yeah, definitely

•Aware from early childhood that he/she is different: YES

•Intelligent: YES

•Opinionated and outspoken, convinced that he is right and that the rest of the world is out of step: Opinionated yes; outspoken, not usually—but as I get older I am becoming more so. The second part I plead the 5th.

•Noncompetitive, not in need of reassurance or reinforcement from society: Definitely non-competitive

•Unusual in his eating habits and living arrangements: Not so much

•Not particularly interested in the opinions or company of other people, except in order to persuade them to his the correct - point of view: True to an extent. I am interested in certain people’s company and in people who have informed opinions rather than those who structure their belief systems around cultural conditioning and emotional reactions-- exclusive of rational thinking. As a rule; I do not follow the herd mentality and prefer spending time with creative or unusual people with original ideas.

•Possessed of a mischievous sense of humor: YES

•Single: No, but I did not get married until I was 37

•usually the eldest or an only child: Only child

•Bad speller: Guilty as charged.


Since grade school, I have always recognized myself as somewhat of a misfit. I never had a problem making friends: although they usually came from the margins of “popularity central”. This meant that I befriended the artists, poets, punks, intellectuals, introverts, and other people outside the dominate society.

I intrinsically knew, even from a young age, that my opinions, beliefs and life experiences were somehow different from the majority of my classmates. For awhile, I attributed that to my introverted nature, but I may need to tweak that understanding a bit and just decide to embrace my inner eccentric!

As a result, I should not be surprised to find myself in love with and married to an immigrant: nor should it be surprising that I am committed to fighting the discriminatory system that has deemed my husband disposable, deportable-- and continues to stifle him within a soft cage of institutionalized xenophobia.

Additionally, it is not shocking to find myself in the minority when it comes to rallying for immigrant rights and immigration reform. Nor is it out of character for me to be vehemently opposed to a dehumanizing, unconstitutional and evil law as SB 1070. The herd mentality I mentioned before requires a blind allegiance to-- and a fervent belief in the unquestioned moral righteousness of assigned leaders, media moguls and law makers/ enforcement. I have no such illusory concepts.

So, as one of the greatest minds of American literature once stated: “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” Mark Twain

I completely agree! 'Cos just because it's popular doesn't make it healthy, moral or just.