Look, it’s hard being unique. I would know. And of course, it’s important to remove the stigma from things we all do. But there are some things that only I should be able to do because otherwise, I wouldn’t feel special anymore.
The other day I saw a viral tweet that said “Normalize sticking your tongue out when you yawn like you’re a little kitty cat” and I was caught off-guard. I was tagged in the replies of this tweet on three separate occasions. Why is that? Because that is MY thing! Everyone knows that when I’m tired and need to yawn, the tongue comes out too! It’s all that I am and I won’t let it be taken away from me without a fight.
You’d imagine my surprise when I saw hundreds of replies on this post about other people doing the exact same thing. I’m not the only one who does this? I’m not special? Don’t you dare try to normalize this without my permission.
I also used to get compliments on the uniqueness of my tongue ring. Now? No one even cares that I have one at all! We normalized them so much that people stopped acknowledging mine years ago, and now 13-year-olds have multiple piercings and subdermals and call me a “normie”. It’s like I’m not even special at all? We’ve got to put a stop to this.
I would go on about how it makes me anxious and unsure about my identity but seriously, does anyone really want to hear about that? With how much we’ve normalized talking about our mental health, I doubt it’s anything that hasn’t already been said. Just look at how much this has taken from me.
Who am I if I’m not the sleepy cool cat with the bedazzled tongue? Do I find a new quirk? Won’t the normalizers just take that away from me too? Why even bother committing to something like consistently referring to my phone as “The Magic Rectangle I Keep In My Pocket” if it’ll just be some mainstream slang in three months’ time?
The next time someone wants to normalize something, please take a moment to stop and think if it’s worth it to take individuality away from an offbeat character like me. Please – don’t do it. This is all I have.
