musings of a malcontent

i’m relatively normal.  there isn’t overtly outrageous or striking or unique about me at first glance.  i’m a 20-something female, i was born into a middle class family in suburban america.  i am college educated, i participated in sports and have friends and a car and a cell phone and am blessed beyond belief.  so really, i’m typical when it comes to my surroundings. i’ve tried all my life to stand out and be ‘unique.’  outwardly for a hefty chunk of my life i tried to blend in and become invisible but as a person, i wanted to find my niche.  i wanted to be known for something or to be special or to somehow stand apart from the others.  i was thinking bout this on my way into work today for some reason and i came up with a rather cheesy but true analogy.  i think we’re like recipes.  take mexican food for example (one of my faves by the way!!).  the basic ingredients are the same.  beans, rice, meat, salsa, cheese, lettuce, tomato, tortillas… right?  so what is it that differentiates a taco from a burrito from an enchilada from a tostada?  i mean really, they are made of the same essential ingredients that have just been rearranged.  so what makes them different?  it’s the small things.  it’s the spices, it’s the sauces, it’s the cooking methods, it’s the small things added to these basic ones that make them stand apart.  i think we’re like that.  i think we sometimes try, i know i do anyhow, to pretend that i’m not the 20-something  female from the pacific northwest who loves coffee.  because lets be honest, i am, i do, and so are a whole lot of other people!  it’s the small things that i love, that i spend my time on, that i’m invested in, that i get attitude over and on behalf of, my likes and dislikes, my experiences, my quirks, my passions… those are what differentiate me from the others.  and that’s what makes me special.  i think it’s time to not be embarrassed or to ignore who we are and where we came from but instead embrace it and then take that and play around with the recipe.  right?  i don’t really know what made me think about this on my drive.  i’ve been processing a lot lately…