 An okra-loving Pastafarian
They lied to me. I don't know about you, but in the part of the world where I grew up they taught us that we are all special and unique. They lied. I probably would do the same if they wanted me to talk about life, in front of some innocent, hyperactive, obnoxious five year olds. Perhaps they made us feel special because they knew that we would someday shake the cold hand of the undesirable truth. I don't know about others in my kindergarten, but I sure have learned that I'm no wonder woman.
However, over the past two decades, I've learned, witnessed, and believed that we are all different from one another in many different ways. But that doesn't really make us special does it? I hope you know that I'm not talking about appearances here because with the developments in plastic surgery, and by simply following the latest fashion trends, in the 21st century you can look just like the girl sitting next to you-even if you belong to the opposite sex. The difference I'm referring to is the one that comes from within. Like loving okra or being a Pastafarian. Your tastes, your beliefs and of course your perspective.
I used to think and still do (hush don't tell anyone) that no one sees things as another person sees them. For instance, colors. My blue can be your pink! We all see colors don't we, and we give these colors names like orange, black, green, purple. We even learn the names of these colors in other languages. However, we don't learn the colors themselves. What we learn is the concept of colors. We say leaves are green, cotton is white, roses are red, and violets are blue. Since we can't taste, smell, or feel colors we can't really define green or blue, can we? Well, if you have synesthesia you might, I can taste green for instance (don't tell anyone this either). The colors, as we see them, might be completely different. What I mean is I might be seeing blue as pink and still call it blue. Confused? Let me elaborate.
Colors here were of course a metaphor but let's take something simpler to consider, like leather jackets which we see a lot lately because of winter. When you wear one you might say, “Wow, I look like I've just jumped out of Grease. Neat!” Or you might say “Monsters!” (like myself) and then run away crying. In this case you probably wouldn't have worn it in the first place. Well you might come across something similar when it comes to abortion rights, pornography, communism or censorship, but I believe it wouldn't involve Grease.
Or just simply think about the registration procedure that we are going through. Most students get advice from their seniors about their instructors or which class to take. One might say that the class is completely useless and boring and gives you nothing but assignment overload, but someone else might say the opposite and add that the instructor is really nice and very understanding when it comes to assessment.
What I'm trying to say is you see things differently, and that makes you a different person. Your perception of life, in general is defined by billions of different factors and it's impossible for another person to live through the same things you have, even if this person is a member of your family or your best friend. No matter how hard you try, you can't run away from the fact that you are different. It's something you can't change. I know from personal experience that people don't really like to be different. They like to be with people with whom they have something in common. We don't like to be left alone. This is probably why we tend to change ourselves in order to be like someone else, but this still really doesn't change the fact that we are all different.
Plus, being different is not such a bad thing. In fact, if you ask me, its wonderful. It's what adds color to our lives and what broadens our horizons. It's what makes us, as human beings special. Maybe they didn't lie to us after all. Maybe we are special simply for being different and making this life worthwhile.
By Eda Erdem (TRIN/IV)
a_erdem@ug.bilkent.edu.tr
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