Your Life is More Interesting Than You Think it Is

Think back on your life for a minute. Where you grew up, your parents, your siblings if any, any pets you've had, dumb things you did as a child, dumb things you did as a teenager, and dumb things you've done since reaching adulthood.

Chances are, every single one of you has a totally different story.

This, in essence, makes you unique and special and different and, to some degree, interesting. To at least someone. But when you look back on your life, it probably doesn't seem to be anything more than... well, normal. And, dare I say it, kinda boring.

The Army had that ad on TV once that said, "If someone wrote a book of your life, would anyone want to read it?" I always used to answer that in my head with a resounding "no". But then, I was talking to a newly-made friend the other day about my life, and she called my life "interesting".

I was taken aback for a moment. COMPLETELY confused as to why anyone would call my life "interesting". No one's ever said that about my life before, I always considered it normal & boring. But I thought about it for a second and came to the conclusion that (and I think I even said this to my friend), of course it seems boring; it's all I've really ever known. My life is my life, it's the daily grind, the usual, the everyday, the mundane.

But to anyone who hasn't lived my exact life, there will be aspects to my life story that are different & interesting & unusual & fascinating. Or just plain weird.

Apparently the fact that I didn't really "grow up" in any one specific place is weird to some people. My mom moved us somewhere new about every 5 years, mostly just for a change of scenery or job or something. With every move she's gotten closer & closer to her ideal, and now she lives in the exact city & the exact house that she's basically always wanted. She was too ambitious to stay in one place, she had dreams of her perfect ideal home, and ultimately she got it. I know many other people who've lived in the same place for 15+ years; honestly, I can't imagine that. (I myself have lived in 4 different towns in the last five years, and I plan on moving again as soon as I have the money to). But I've had people ask me if I was a military brat in the past, so obviously this isn't the norm. :P

Apparently the fact that my family lived next door to my grandmother for about 5 years is weird too. It was AWESOME living next door to my grandmother. She & I have always been close. We had access to her place if we needed anything like sugar or butter or eggs. My parents always had somewhere to drop us off if they were going out of town or just out for an evening. And this was during our elementary school years, so needless to say, it was a VERY nice arrangement for everyone. But I told someone about that once and they said it was an interesting idea, they'd never heard of it before. They'd heard of the whole huge family living together, but not in two separate houses right next door. The next door thing seemed very reasonable to me - each family has its own space & privacy, but the convenience of being right there for each other all the time. But again, not the norm.

Apparently the fact that I like Japanese music & TV is weird. But honestly, that one, I figured. But I've met some people who find that incredibly interesting about me. I, however, think I'm a boring otaku nerd.

My new friend told me my life seemed interesting after I mentioned to her the history of my years since college. My ex being a delusional sociopathic con artist, meeting my current boyfriend online (another not-normal thing), all that stuff. That was when she said my life seemed "interesting".

I guess you just never know what about your life is gonna be fascinating to anyone else. But if you've got a story that makes you special or interesting, or gives you expertise in something, or helps caution others against doing something dumb, share that story. You never know who'll be interested.