Unique...

u·nique/yo͞oˈnēk/

Adjective:

Being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else

This past week all the Christmas decorations were pulled from their hiding places, dusted off, and placed around the home to enhance the holiday spirit. Year after year as one of my favorite pieces, a handmade stocking from my grandmother, is pulled from the bins, a giggle fit takes over. The grandmother who stitched this for me prior to birth was someone with whom I was deeply connected to and loved very much. She understood me well and provided unconditional love and support during the times I needed it the most; so her intuition in color choices as she created this stocking were filled with a great deal of irony and foresight on her part, whether she was aware of it at the time or not!

This beautiful stocking made with tender loving care is adorned with bells, green trees that sparkle and a Santa...whose face is a light ebony color. Each grandchild received a stocking for their first Christmas, and out of six grandchildren mine is the only one whose Santa is a many shades darker than the rest. Don't get me wrong, this is NOT a pity party! It's the symbolism of the Santa that brings the annual smile to my face, for make no mistake, the life path I seem to have walked, encompasses many aspects aligned with that of the 'black sheep'.

Various body piercings, love for tattoos, boarding school student, handmade clothing created from thrift store finds, boot camp attendee, meeting the gentleman with whom I would have three beautiful children with on the interstate as we were driving 65 mph alongside each other...that was me. Most often deemed unconventional when compared to my surroundings, but looking back clearly it was also a way to discover who I really am.

Uniqueness is quite freeing when one can fully embrace and channel it for the purpose of enhancing life, instead of creating the illusion of being a victim of circumstance. Many times I have felt too different, unaccepted, and at times completely alone. This has not fully gone away, victim hood can claim the mind of anyone from time to time. Rationally however, how can someone accept someone if they don't fully accept themselves? Seriously. But internally contemplating this notion for awhile, resolution and peace now reigns in the personal choice to embrace and keep the lessons from the unique life experiences that once hindered my power. Ultimately, this acceptance also has allowed a serious love for qualities of the 'black sheep' style ingrained in my being...for which at times will be flaunted without shame.

Being unconventional, certainly has its perks. One doesn't have to worry too much about what others will think, because you have already been deemed a bit 'unique.' No one asks, "Why would Eliza do/say that?" The question has already been answered. "Why is Eliza's hair purple?" Although perhaps it was an accident made by a hair stylist, no one who knows me thinks twice. Very freeing and hilarious.

So, have you ever felt predestined to hold a certain 'lot' in life? Maybe that 'lot' is a marked with neon green while others have the standard yellow? If so, let's be friends for that is certainly the standard for me!

Cheers!