They Will Think You Are Weird
When you start making great changes in your life, people will think you are weird. That is a fact.
Thinking about what people might think becomes a great excuse not to live fully and not to incorporate much-needed change. People will think you are weird, different, crazy, funny, and that is ok. People will also think you are fun, amazing, beautiful, lovely and badass. As good or bad as any of those thoughts are, none of them should damper your motivation, kill your inspiration or make you question your desire to take action.
Most people want things to stay the same and when you go changing things up, you become a threat. Your curiosity challenges their lifestyle and when you actually take action, they start questioning everything. Unfortunately, when questioning their own lives, things get so uncomfortable that they change the topic and think about you and how weird you are.
You are weird if you …
- Wake up early
- Live debt free
- Keep a journal
- Watch The Holiday
several times a year. (ok, maybe that is weird, but I LOVE that movie)
- Live on a boat
- Meditate
- Drink green juice
- Get your best ideas on a yoga mat
- Love cupcakes (wait that’s not weird)
- Quit your job
- Homeschool your kids
- Run marathons
- Dress with less
- Believe in God
- Floss in the shower
- Give Freely
- Kill Your TV
- Laugh way too loud
- Make your own laundry soap
- Quit Facebook
- Sell your car
- Gave up everything and travel the world
- Have a compost pile
- Love Dave Ramsey
- Don’t like shopping
- Name your van Zooey and take her on tour
- Live small so you can live big
When you start to think someone else is weird, pay close attention and ask questions. Get uncomfortable and take action. You can be weird too.
You will threaten some, but your weird, crazy, lovely, badass behavior will inspire and spread hope, joy, courage and change. Let go of the excuse that people might think you are weird if you make a change or try something new. They absolutely will and you will survive it. Maybe you are weird. Welcome to the club!
What makes you weird?
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98 Responses to “They Will Think You Are Weird”
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Love this! And so true, but so much better for people to think you are off then to live so outside of your truth that you don’t even know who you are anymore!
I would like to do many of the things you put on the list, some I already do. I have been thought of as weird in a past job(s) because I would read during down time (personal growth books), create and things of that nature. I remember hearing a girl there saying I was so strange! But I am ok with that! In fact I am learning more and more how to rock that part of me!
Way to embrace your weirdness Heather. Weird is way more fun and fulfilling than normal!
We sold our 4 bedroom house and downsized to a 2 bedroom apartment. This freed up time and money so we can create and participate in more activities and experiences.
That makes us weird. My parents didn’t get it and my wife’s parents didn’t get it. Everyone we told, told us not to sell our house. We ended up telling most people that we were just moving closer to work, which was only a partial truth, but they had an easier time with that.
So now we are weird, but we are having a great time filling our life with fun activities, and creating a lifetime of memorable experiences for our young daughter.
So weird!
we are thinking of selling of four bedroom house to move into a condo so that we can pay for college for our children, our first of whom is a freshman this fall. people definitely think we are weird…i prefer radical. it’s just a house. i’d rather cut our mortgage in half than live in debt (our home is our only debt, and we remember too vividly what college debt was like). thanks for your comment, i just prayed this morning about whether or not we are doing the right thing, and God led me straight to this blog and your comment.
People don’t think you’re weird if you believe in a god. Especially if it’s the Christian God. What country do you live in?
Here in the USA, people are OUTRAGED if you don’t believe in a god. You even get death threats on occasion, on the internet. People like George W Bush think that Atheists shouldn’t be allowed to be citizens.
That’s not true, Bethany. I have much first hand experience with my belief in God being considered weird. And I live in the United States.
But the fact remains that Christianity is the default setting of the population. Our money says in God we trust, our pledge of allegiance mentions him, etc. Almost every president is/was a Christian (not 100% sure on the earliest presidents, but all recent ones).
Try being an atheist in a small town and around a predominately Christian family.
Then you could say, if your religion/lack thereof differs from the person assessing you, you are weird.
Exactly! Some do not except “different”. To them, it’ too WEIRD. I think more people believe than not, and more people keep it to themselves, if not.
^ this. Even in a large town, I can’t really come out to my family as an atheist. Believing in God is not usually weird. It’s normal.
I think people thing that talking about God is weird, not necessarily believing in him.. but that may be a regional thing.
I agree, Bethany. I’ve been told I’m going to hell countless times for being an atheist (not that I believe in hell, so I’m usually like, “um, nice try with the insult?”) Most people believe in God. I didn’t realize there were even other people like me who DIDN’T believe in God until college and when I started Googling it. Believing in God is not typically considered weird.
I’m from the UK and although I think people hear are less vocal about their Christianity, it is still the default setting (at least in the area I live in). I too didn’t realise that there was a thing called an atheist and that I was one until right at the end of university…
Definitely you can be thought weird if you challenge people’s set ideas- like getting married in a church when you are not a churchgoer…
There’s a quote I like related to being weird:
“You can probably take it as a rule of thumb from now on that if people don’t think you’re weird, you’re living badly.”
– Paul Graham (http://www.paulgraham.com/addiction.html)
I try to live by that.
Matt
We do so many of the things on your list and have tried to keep as much as we can to ourselves by not talking about it. Still, our choices have really offended our families just because of the fact that our choices are not usually easy ones and that is threatening. So we moved 6 hours away…out of a brand new subdivision and into a mobile home park so that we are no longer tied to jobs that we hate and have time to do those things that are really important to us. And eventually, by making this odd choice, we will be able to buy a bit of ground and achieve our dream of being weird homesteaders. So glad that I don’t have to hear all of the ‘concerned’ comments anymore!
I love it Laurie!
I’m working on developing ‘spending fast’ guidelines (from http://www.andthenshesaved.com) for my own massive debt that keeps me tied to working full time and keeps me in perpetual fear and concern involving money. Your writing is inspirational and encouraging. Thank you for what you are sharing. You’re on my blogroll!
Thanks Claire. Try reading and listening to Dave Ramsey too. He helped us destroy our debt.
Most of my family definitely think I am weird for separating out recycling, composting, etc. It’s very difficult to be at someone’s house and just throw the ends of cut up vegetables into the rubbish bin because I’ve become so used to putting it in a separate place. Though our kitchen is a bit overwhelmed with bins for the different recycling and other ways of dealing with household waste.
I don’t think that’s weird! I think that’s AWESOME! I’m glad you do that. =) I cringe when I see people throw away recyclable material.
Courtney,
This is such a great twist, I love it: “When you start to think someone else is weird, pay close attention and ask questions. Get uncomfortable and take action.” It’s a wonderful caution to look at our own projections because they really do go to the heart and give us fuel for change.
I’m weird because I meditate, don’t have a television, compost, recycle, and go into angst over buying a new pair of shoes (normal ones take 1,000 years to disintegrate). But I live in a community with lots of “weird” people so I guess that now makes me “normal”.
I’m a minimalist, vegetarian verging on vegan, and making oodles of money working long hours has no attraction for me. I value my time, health, and loved ones and friends too much. My brother who is currently studying for the bar to become a lawyer thinks I’m insane. I thought when I started a blog no one would give a damn. Now I write about simple, spiritual living, and I get likes on posts, comments, and followers all the time. We let fear and what others will think of us hold us back way too often. Life is so much better outside the box.
I also have no TV and do body weight exercises and yoga almost every day.
If I listed EVERYTHING *weird* about me, it’d be a mile long, but here’s another: I’m a raging bibliophile who’s selling the majority (note I said MAJORITY not all) of his books and putting the money toward a Kindle. Oddly I’ve found I actually read MORE now that I’m culling the collection and staying off the computer more than I did when I had hundreds of books. The library has also become a dear friend.
Absolutely, I rather too live outside of the box, than the “in box” We just had some friends visit we haven’t seen in 10 years. I have changed my life to live simply, they assume were poor now! Why because I make my own detergent, repurpose furniture…. Some people in the box just don’t get it. That’s when I can enjoy a little moment with a cup of tea and chuckle!
‘
Kind of sad how that works, isn’t t Kerry? Because obviously money and piles of junk are the mark of wealth and happiness. *Rolls eyes*
Woo! Great thoughts. Weirdness is underrated.
My weird list:
Dislike shopping
Don’t carry a purse
Own 20 pieces of clothing
Homeschooler
Name inanimate objects
Don’t watch TV
Enjoy cleaning house
No Facebook
I’m in love with being weird! And laughing too loud
I’m weird because I shave part of my head and have tattoos that other people don’t understand. But when did my tattoos become something that other people are supposed to understand?
I love this post!!!
What makes me weird? That I’ve been extremely sensitive to energy since I was a child & rather than disappearing as I grew up, it increased continually & now I’m a professional psychic & healer… Is that the weird bit or is it that I’m loving using my gifts rather than keeping them a secret?? I don’t know but I do know that some people think I’m weird & others think I’m awesome – I’ve learnt to live with peoples differing opinions but reading a post like this reminds mr how much I’ve grown on this topic in the last decade
Love & embrace your gifts, Fiona,x
I’ve been on both sides. Whether you believe In god or not, you’re weird to the other side. Though I think in most of the USA, Christianity is more the norm.
Growing up Lutheran, atheists, Jehovah’s Witneses, and those that speak in tongues were weird (according to my mother, therefore child-me believed the same).
Now that I lean more agnostic (and previously Wiccan/Pagan), most Christians think I’m weird.
My friends also think its weird that I don’t find going out to bars or getting drunk to be fun.
If you’re lucky, you’ll find like-minded people/friends and you can all be weird together.
This is just JOY~FULL to read, and the comments, too. I almost sprayed iced tea out my nose about The Holiday though… I NEVER imagined there were others so weird as ME to watch it multiple times throughout the year. How fun!!
I live alone, with my Golden Retriever/Service Dog, in a 300 square-foot cottage about a mile’s walk from the Atlantic Ocean. I sold my car in April and just got home from the market. I had to put my rain poncho on en route, but made it home again without ever once landing my wee cart in a puddle!! I wonder how many people see these changes in me as weird. Actually, probably nobody is even paying attention…
I so enJOY all that you write, Courtney, and REALLY enJOYed your instigatoring on A Year With Myself http://ayearwithmyself.com last week. Brilliant, fun, and so wise in all your weirdness!!
Weird is good these days. We gave up a lot a while back (well we thought we were giving up a lot). We ended up becoming debt free and what a relief that was.
My wife and I had the fun of starting a journey that proved to be the most freeing experience we could have ever dreamed of. After you become debt free, everything in life is just better. You really are more with less! Love your posts, they inspire and help keep me motivated.
I do so many of those things on your list, lol. I think everyone I’d weird and should embrace the weirdness
omg, i’m shocked at how many things on the list i do or am! you forgot vegan though!
love, Love, LOVE this post!
What makes me weird?
We haven’t had a television in our home for 32 years — the length of our amazing, conversation-filled marriage.
I haven’t had a TV in over a year and don’t miss it. I watch Avatar: Legend of Korra each week via internet download, and an episode of the Doctor Oz Show on occasion via streaming, but I really don’t like watching TV shows for an extended period. I just feel like I’m flushing time away. Weird, I know.
Please help me not like shopping!!!! I want to not like it, I tell myself I do not like it, but it keeps pulling me back in.
This is awesome. My hubby and I have felt on the fringes so to speak for some time now. We’re making some life changes that get varied responses. It’s encouraging to feel weird with others. thanks for bringing it up.
This goes down as my favorite post from your blog! I found myself in MANY of your weird categories. Thank you for the reminder that it’s ok to be different. And it’s ok to be open to new areas of weirdness!
What a compassionate and caring post this was Courtney! You’ve hit home with this, as we realize so many people are living life suppressed and tense because their peers don’t understand them.
We started our path to weirdness over five years ago when we made an effort to trim our waistlines. People thought we were weird(cheap) to be splitting every meal. Sure, it did save us money…but our real goal was to control our portion sizes.
Weird people = courageous souls who dare to expose themselves to criticism in the interest of a higher calling and a greater good than the status quo.
Thanks for the inspiring post!
“Weird is the new normal.”
I recently got rid of all my DVD’s except for two, which were Chocolat and The Holiday. I used to watch it all the time also. Now we have no TV so I don’t watch it so much anymore. I don’t think that’s weird.
Nicole. We have so much in common. If we were neighbors, we would so be having moving nights together! Have you seen New Year’s Day?
No I haven’t. I will get it out next time I hire a DVD.
I am weird because I HATE shopping. I’d rather go to the dentist. I tell my sons not to buy me stuff for Mother’s Day, Christmas, or birthday. I get excited when I plant seeds and they grow. I splurge on a few things… one is really good tea, brewed in a teapot and shared with my partner. Tea and conversation with someone who loves me is waaay better than shopping. I love being weird.
Courtney….great, great post (and fun!). Boy, do I ever identify with what you said. Laughing too loud, homeschooling kids, living small so you can live big. Flossing in the shower? My kids call me a flossaholic….at least 2x a day.
The inspirational writer Byron Katie says ‘When I walk into a room everyone loves me. They just don’t know it yet’. I think that’s a great line.
Over the years I’ve learned that ‘if you’re too big for the room’, it’s not the place you’re meant to be.
Thanks for helping to start my day off with a hardy laugh (yes, I guffaw sometimes) and good reminders. Fran
the Byron Katie line is fantastic! Thanks for sharing it!
Just last weekend when I went to my parents-in-law’s place, they were talking to me about a tv show and I had no idea what they were talking about.
Apparently, it’s a very famous tv show in our country. They were so shocked that I don’t know anything about it. I told them that their son and I don’t have a tv, and that shocked them even more. (Actually we do have a tv, it just didn’t have tv channels and cable, we use it for scheduled movie watching)
They asked us why we won’t buy a cable subscription, and all other questions and they looked at us like we came from another planet.
We created a line of Eco-homes that are smaller than the average home, super-efficient, attractive and affordable. Our buyers find that a smaller mortgage, smaller utility & tax bill are not weird at all. Our company focus is on creating “personal sustainability” as a result of reducing the cost of housing (usually the largest monthly bill) and freeing up cash for savings. The coolest part is that smaller monthly financial obligations create free time for doing all great things with friends and family. It seems that our weird approach to housing is a winner for those that want to take control of a better way of living.
very cool. I have heard of this. Anything in Massachusetts?
I relate to 9 of your list of 27 things. Does that mean that only a third of me is weird? I need to catch up!
Gene, I bet you have a whole list of your own so you might be 1.33 weird.
You’re probably right, Courtney. I may sit down soon and come up with my own.
At my church, we recently did a series of messages called Weird based on the fact that Jesus called us to take the narrow road instead of the broad road. It was an interesting topic.
Great list, Courtney! I’m with you in all of them!
I live debt free
I don’t like shopping
I wake up early and stretch
I don’t get pedicures (my girlfriends think it’s soooo weird)
I enjoy cleaning and organizing
I donate, recycle, give away, almost every day!
I run marathons!
I never had a Facebook account!
I start flossing in the shower following your advice!
I watch “You’ve got mail” way too many times over the course of the year
I’m a big minimalist and get excited when I get a new email from your blog!
Thank you!
Love this post! Many think I’m weird because I don’t fill my pantry with ‘normal’ American diet foods. Instead I cook most things from scratch and eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Also, I’ve had some interesting reactions to returning to school at age 48 after 16 years in an IT career plus 10 years at home with kids. I am gravitating towards a vegetarian diet, mainly for health reasons, and really get some surprised reactions to this! But the more things I change about myself the happier I am with myself. When changing things about myself I always seem to find people with similar interest so it doesn’t always seem quite so weird:)
I don’t think it’s weird, but sometimes other people think it is weird that I’m willing to try and fail, over and over and over. I love learning, and trying is my path to learning.
That is so inspiring…thank you for the encouragement!
If people tell me I’m weird, I take it as a compliment. It is that simple for me.
positive affirmations.. perfect thinking!
Yep. People think we’re weird because we don’t want real jobs again and want to rent a small apartment (with kids!) in a city we love instead of buying another big house in the suburbs.
So true! I have lived this one many times over! But what stuck out in your thoughts today for me was I think I’m guilty of thinking someone else is weird for something they are choosing to do! And the realization: It’s not weirder than the things I do!
I also had a situation where one of my closest friends sort of abandoned all conversation about a month prior to me actually getting rid of most of my stuff and moving to Hawaii. Interestingly enough, 14 months later, she has reappeared. And has admitted, wow, I can’t believe you did that! But its way cool and you impacted all of us back “home” in that you did something big and different.
All good stuff!
My name is Tracey, and I am weird.
I have no debt. I don’t like shopping. I hardly ever watch TV (I didn’t even have a TV until I met my husband). I don’t believe in God (here it’s weird to admit that). I don’t like pubs and clubs or crowded places. I don’t “do” fancy hairstyles or make-up or facials and manicures. I like cleaning the house. I don’t like to wear shoes (have a few pairs out of necessity though)and I don’t have many clothes. I’m not interested in having all the latest gadgets. We have fewer bedrooms than people in our house, I like to stay home on a Satruday night and I talk to my cat!
I talk to my son’s bunny, sometimes I wish animals could talk…now that would be weird, but in an interesting way.
I’ve got a house plant named Plutarch that I talk to all the time. There are actually tons of studies that show that talking to plants actually has a measurable effect on how they grow.
Oh my god! I loved this post. It made me laugh and it made me realize that I had been feeling the pressure recently by my family and friends, who kept on saying to me, Why can’t you just be normal? Why do you have to travel? Why can’t you just live the way everyone else does?
And the thought in my head was, But Why live exactly the same as everyone else? I like my life. I like my quirks. I like my weirdness. I am going to keep it. And whenever I feel the pressure, I am going to come back to this list and remind myself there are others out there who are choosing to live the ‘Weird’ way. The more of us live weirdly, the more normal it will become. Let’s carry on the revolution.
If we weren’t weird, life would be sooooo boring. Carry On!
This is so true and so great! Great post Courtney!
P.S. “The Holiday” is one of my fav movies too… I lost count of how many times I have seen it
Do you do all the things on the list?
I love this, I too have been called weird over the years,the latest is that I got rid of just about everything I owned when my boys moved out on their own to live in a 300 sq ft studio apartment. I got the last laugh, I am having the time of my life.
to add to the list…
* live on less during the school year (we’re teachers) so that we can take off three months of the summer and still get paid and be with our children
* drive old cars until they literally die on the side of the road
* couponing
* saying “no” so we can say “YES” to things that matter more
Love this! Especially that you mentioned Dave Ramsey. We took his course last year and it completely revolutionized my way of viewing spending. I haven’t felt the strong pull to buy a new car just because “everyone’s doing it” or look for a bigger house now that we are expecting our second child. I’m so thankful for this blog as it continues to encourage me to look for ways to be more with less.
This is my weird…a perfect quote from Marilyn Monroe. It hangs in all places my laundry room (where I spend a great deal of time. I stare at it an ponder my weird thoughts.
“Imperfection is beauty,
madness is genius
and it’s better to be
absolutely ridiculous
than
absolutely boring”
– Marilyn Monroe
Enough Said.
•Live debt free (the only debt I have is my mortgage)
•Quit your job (I’ve done this – am doing my MA fulltime for a year starting Sept)
•Run marathons (I want to do this – have done 2 half marathons!)
•Dress with less (i have sold / given lots of my clothes to the thrift shop ready to move home and do the MA)
•Believe in God
•Give Freely
•Kill Your TV (I have one now but my first 5 years after finishing Uni I was TV-less)
•Quit Facebook (I de-activate often)
•Sell your car (have done this as I am overseas and moving back home to study – can’t afford a car whilst doing the MA)
•Gave up everything and travel the world
•Have a compost pile (really??? my parents have had one as long as I can remember)
•Don’t like shopping (too much choice – and when you know exactly what you want you can never find it)
Am I weird??????????????????
I take pride in being weird! In fact, I summarized my weirdness on a specified page on my blog: http://jasonwhurley.wordpress.com/being-weird/
Our lists definitely overlap a lot. Great job!
It would appear that those of us who appear to be weird may be becoming the norm, at least in some areas. I have decided to nominate you for the One Lovely Blog Award
Why I’m weird in my neighborhood: I do yoga, drink green juice, have absolutely zero interest in sports, don’t really watch tv, couldn’t care less about following the news and hate using the air conditioning.
Oh wow! that sounds just like me! Except I love football, but don’t own a tv
YES – people definitely think you are weird – but some people admire your changes:
I love Dave Ramsey – trying to pay off our 15 year mortgage in 6 years – yeah!
We divided our house in two making part of it a rental to assist in the process and living with our growing family (#2 due in November) in about 1100 sq ft – some people definitely thought we were crazy
When I started giving things away/selling things my mother wanted to buy/store them from me because she could not understand why I would want to get rid of things. I still don’t think she quite gets it or has forgiven me for some of the things I got rid of.
When we tell people we don’t have a TV they think we are strange – we can watch shows on Netflix or on Hulu if we want – but we are thinking of giving up Netflix too.
We have a compost pile – so good for our yummy garden and we make our own laundry soap (so darn easy and cheep!)
I can definitely say that the changes we have made to simplify our lives and our belongings are for the best and that we aren’t done with the changes yet – the more we let go of the easier it gets and we are hoping that we will be able to live really well (including great family trips) on much less then we are making now by the time we are done – I can’t wait!
“It is no measure of sanity to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society” Krishna Murti
Just a slight nit-pick, but his name was Krishnamurti, one word.
Either way, J, thanks for that quote. I love the man and his work, and that quote is spot on.
This comes at a perfect time–thank you! There are many, but small, life changes I wish to make in my life, but struggle with the fact that they may affect the people around me. For instance, I am beginning to make my own cleaning products/bug spray/etc; as well as cut out a lot of *crap* food. It’s difficult because we spend a lot of time with my in-laws and my MIL will clean out her tub with clorox right before giving my toddler a bath! {i about die!} also, my SIL feeds her son a lot of processed snacks, and it makes it very difficult when my daughter wants some, too. I guess I will just embrace my weirdness!!! =P
** my fav bullet point is about “The Holiday” It’s my absolute favorite movie! We even had the song “Gumption” playing at our wedding! I love me a good Hans Zimmer song
Where I live, waking up early is considered normal. I am not a morning person. Anytime before 8 a.m. and I feel groggy, cranky and nauseous. It doesn’t matter how well I slept, what time I went to sleep, or if I eased into wakefulness. Thus, I prefer to sleep in. That makes me weird. Haha. I guess what is weird depends on the “normal” of the people around you.
You’re completely right. I’ve started accepting that people will think I’m ‘weird’, because if I were to act any other way, I’d feel like I was being dishonest with myself. I’ve started to pre-empt the looks of pity and confusion that comes when I inform someone that I choose to work part-time and not to use shampoo!
When I decided to run a marathon, some people definitely thought I was weird! Initially I tried to convince them otherwise, but then I just gave up. What is the point, I thought. I will run the marathon, no matter what they think of me – sane or otherwise. Hence, going forward, the motto is “Be and Do more, say less!”.
Sometimes I get the impression, people say you are weird when being a minimalist because somewehre in their deeper parts of their heart they would like to be more minimalistic too. The reaction I get from new people at our house is more like ” my god, we really have too much stuff at our own home!” Isn’ t it weird to have much stuff that steals you your life you want to have? It’s just a question about the perspective you have what seems weird to you and what not…. and even minimalists from one country may be weird to a minimalist to another country – so, you will always find a perspective that thinks you are weird – independent of how you life. Why then worry about being weird?
According to how many things on your list applies to me . . . I am weird and proud of it. Yet, the funny thing is I feel more normal now than I did when I did ‘normal’ things
Oh, the amount of ways I’m weird is astounding:
I’m an acrobat
I’m a juggler
I’m a magician
I’m a balloon modeler
I’m a hula hooper
I’m a fire twirler
I used to manage a circus school
I used to be a full time performer
I’m a mathematician
I’m a qualified math teacher but don’t teach at a regular school.
I teach at a gifted and talented tutoring centre
I teach English
The longest I’ve worked for one employer is 18 months.
I’m a writer
I’m a blogger
I ship my art every single day
I’m a Minimalist
I’m an environmentalist
I enjoy improving my financial literacy
I love all of Seth Godin’s books
I want to homeschool any future children I have.
I love writing long responses in the comments of blog posts.
If you didn’t realise, I enjoyed this process
i relocated to a new area and havent been able to make any close friendships in 2-3 years. a couple people have called me weird. people back home didnt think i was weird… i like my new location and want to stay. any advice???
Hello Cari
I have never seen weirdness as a bad thing.
According to one of my favourite authors, “We are all Weird”:
http://www.amazon.com/We-Are-All-Weird-ebook/dp/B005G5DSLW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357897360&sr=8-1&keywords=we+are+all+weird
I say embrace your weirdness.
Find some interest group based around a hobby or pastime, turn up, enjoy yourself, then see what happens.