Fearfully, Quirkily Made

It says in the Bible that we are all fearfully, wonderfully made. There are times though that I wonder if by "wonderfully" God really means "quirky"... at least I wonder that for myself. Try as I may I can't help but feeling as if instead of fitting a square peg into a round hole that maybe I am more elliptical--not being a complete social reject, but rather just off-kilter enough to not quite fit in amongst the surrounding parameters. In college I was able to connect with other ovals (some of which were probably more trianglar or rhomboidal), but now we have had to go our separate ways, whether it be future corporate mogul, planet saver, wife, future mother, or economic drain.

Mimicry is nature's defense mechanism, allowing objects to camoflauge themselves within their surroundings so that they will not be eaten alive. But what happens if you are not so good at mimicking your surroundings? Will you be eaten by the great social machine, or will you be seen as a beautiful anomaly of nature? Take Owen Wilson's nose for example. For some, it is an eyesore---a major deformity smack in the middle of his face. But to some, it is something unique and distinguishing, setting him apart from others. I mean, who else really could have played Hansel, the really really ridiculously good looking model on Zoolander (By the way, that was totally done with the Derek Zoolander voice in my head) ? Is a quirk really something distinguishing, or is it just another euphemism for a flaw?

Between the years of 1636 and 1637, something occurred in Europe known as Tulip Mania. These flowers were so highly revered that they were even used in trade or as currency in buying farm animals, homes, and land. People were investing in tulips [single bulbs of tulips] like yuppies invest in the stock market, and the more exotic the tulip the more it was worth. The tulip fetching the highest price was known as Semper Augustus (http://www.answers.com/topic/tulip-mania), and it was reportedly sold for 100,000 florins, which at that time could feed, clothe, and house an entire Dutch family for half a lifetime. The petals were variegated with jagged red and white stripes, and it was seen as the most beautiful flower. However, it wasn't discovered until much later that the reason this tulip looked the way it did was because of an inherent virus that caused a mutation in its genetic code. Funny.

I guess we all are wonderfully made. We must be, because we have God's code within us. When we were formed in the womb, God looked at us, each one of us, and was pleased with His creation. So what if I do weird things, like pacing when I brush my teeth or finding myself incapable of mixing different colors of M&M's in my mouth? So what if I have to restrain from buying baby shoes, talk to myself frequently, or seek out the weirdest movies possible? I suppose I'm writing this because I'm not quite sure where I fit in amongst my own culture, let alone a foreign one. I'll let you know how it goes..........

P.S. I don't know why I feel like
sharing more of my oddities, but
here I go.....

* I enjoy men in make-up (i.e. David
Bowie as Ziggy Stardust, or Tim
Curry from Rocky Horror Picture
Show)

*I can write almost as quickly backwards as
I can forwards.

*I unknowingly slip in and out of various
accents when talking to friends and family
(Minnesota accent, Russian, British, New
York, etc.)

* I am almost incapable of singing anything
other than harmony

* I laugh inappropriately. All the time.

* I actually take time and give thought to
the weird things I do and compile an
on-line list about it......