Normality is a myth

Normal, being normal :

“Conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected”

Being normal is a myth. It’s highly subjective, very personal-preference based. It depends on your point of view, “perspective-dependence”, so to say. Things that considered as normal last year might have been seen as abnormal this year, or maybe things that were abnormal last year are normal this year.

Take online transportation, for example. Not far back we considered being picked up and delivered elsewhere by a stranger is scary, yet now everyone does exactly that. Online-transportation along with its other services has become an inseparable thing of our daily lives. Right now it is considered weird if you don’t use one. It’s weird for you to be confused of getting where you want to be, because life has never been so easy. Everything is just one click away. Salute for Nadiem Makarim for inventing Gojek, the greatest invention of our era! He has made our life much easier while brilliantly solved our traffic-related problems.

Another example is a working mother. Back in our grandparent/parent days, married women who work still get some weird “label” from their surroundings. As if being a working mom is the worst thing ever. And today? Almost every mom I know is a working mother. Spending countless time away from their child is not an easy task yet they did it. They do it whole-heartedly, to the best of their ability. It has become an everyday sight, it has become a norm.

So, normality is a myth. Our definition of normal is constantly changing. It depends on our surroundings. We evolve, our perspective changes, our value shifts. These days we value practicality more than anything (gojek), and teamwork over everything (working mother –red).

So never be afraid of being abnormal (different -red). Because your “abnormality” might not be that abnormal after all, right?

(photo courtesy of google.com)

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