We’re Different. We’re Unique. But, We Are ALL The Same.
Some insights into our unique sameness.
“Hang on there!” you might tell me in frustration. “We ARE different. We ARE unique. There’s nobody quite like me.”
TRUE. You have characteristics that are unique to you handed down in the DNA from your mother and father and their parents and their parents and so on.
TRUE. You were born in a specific area of a specific country and maybe still live there, or you have moved to a new specific area of a specific country.
TRUE. You have a unique color, texture, and style of hair. Your skin may be on a different place of the color spectrum than mine.
TRUE. You have a unique combination of height and weight.
TRUE. You may be left-handed while I am right.
TRUE. Your feelings and emotions are different from mine — are different from your neighbors and maybe even your friends.
TRUE. Your attitude and mine my easily get along, but there are nuances about you that make you different from me.
TRUE: You have a distinct way of dressing that makes you easily identifiable.
TRUE. The scope of things you like and dislike differ greatly from my likes and dislikes.
TRUE. You might be great at basketball or baseball. I love to watch those sports, but don’t give me the ball to throw because it rarely goes to the person or in the direction I plan. But then, I am musically inclined.
IT’S OK TO BE DIFFERENT! TO BE UNIQUE!
In fact, it’s great to be different. By being different, we expand each other's lives; we push each other to be more open-minded; we introduce our friends to new ideas, things, and experiences that they may not have otherwise tried.
AND LET’S CELEBRATE OUR DIFFERENCES!
Can you imagine how boring the world would be if every one of us seemed to come out of the same creepy-crawler mold and the creator had only one type of goop?
STORY TIME
The second semester of my first year of teaching found me looking for new job. The year had been a tough one following closely on the heels (about three years) of one of the most contested teacher strikes in the city. The board of education decided that it was financially necessary to close 13 of the district’s schools and lay-off 414 of the district’s teachers. Getting hired only one week before the school year began, I found myself in the first wave of pink slips.
I began my search, but so did 414 other teachers. Some were hired back in the position they had been in, especially those that had been in the district for almost two years; some, especially those whose buildings had closed, were hired by different principals in different buildings; still others branched out to other districts that were, unfortunately, also having financial difficulties.
After filling out numerous applications, sending the resume to accompany the application, and attending numerous interviews, I got hired. In my gut, I knew it was not going to be a position I would maintain for the duration of my career, but my head was telling me to be grateful I had a job.
Let me back up a minute.
My first teaching job with the Creative and Performing Arts program in District #205 of Illinois. I taught the academic side of the program: reading, language arts skills, science. My students followed, for the most part, rules that were set up to respect others, excel in their academics, but not stifle the individual creative spirit.
I loved it.
My second teaching job, however, was a bit more stifling to my creative spirit. A nearby Catholic parochial school hired me to teach reading and language arts.
On the first day of school with students, I walked into a sea of gold, green, and white school uniforms. The girls wore a specific green plaid pleated skirt and a white blouse; however, but until puberty found them developing breasts, they could choose to wear or not wear the green vest — after puberty, the vest was a must. The boys wore gold polo shirts and green slacks.
That first day, the students filed in fairly quietly for seventh graders, found their name on their desk and sat straight up in their chair with their hands folded on their desk.
I hadn’t really noticed their sameness as I greeted them at the door because I was looking at their face and checking their name off the roster.
The bell-to-begin rang and I crossed the room to my desk. I picked up my first day notes, set them on the podium, and looked out into the sea of gold, green, and white. Panic hit. They all look the same. How the Hell am I going to figure out who is who? (Yes, breathe a sigh of relief. I said that in my head to myself.)
We are DIFFERENT,
BUT
we are all the SAME.
How can that be?
FIRST: We can ALL be classified, scientifically, to be in the same group.
Class mammalia (We are warm-blooded vertebrates whose young are fed with the milk produced by the mother.)
Kingdom anamalia (We are made up of many cells, breathe oxygen, consume plants and meat, can move, and reproduce sexually — among other things.)
Order primates (Characteristically, we have a large brain; we use our hands; and we display complex behaviors.)
Scientific name homo sapiens (The word “homo sapien” comes from the Latin language and means “wise man.” We are humans.)
SECOND: We ALL want to have a roof over our heads, food on our tables, clothes on our backs, and enough money to survive with a little left over to enjoy life.
THIRD: We ALL want to feel safe and secure in our homes, in our communities, in our country, and in our world.
FOURTH: We ALL want to be part of a group larger than ourselves. To be wanted and needed.
FIFTH: We ALL want to be given an opportunity to grow, change, and succeed.
SIXTH: We ALL want to be treated with respect.
SEVENTH: We ALL want to be listened to.
EIGHTH: We ALL have goals, desires, and dreams that we want to fulfill.
NINTH: We ALL want to celebrate our differences, BUT we don’t want to be judged by them.
TENTH: Unfortunately, we ALL tend to judge other people with our own narrow lens.
In a world where every human being is so similar, yet so different; we ALL — individually — have certain responsibilities first to ourselves and then to others.
We MUST re-learn that healthy competition moves us forward.
We MUST take responsibility for our own actions.
We MUST spend within our means.
We MUST treat others the way we want to be treated.
We MUST realize that much of our jealousy comes from our desires, goals, and dreams.
We MUST realize that living life takes work.
We MUST realize that helping people doesn’t mean just giving them a handout, but includes a hand up.
We MUST change our connotation of the word FAIL from the negative belief in our abilities and dreams TO F. A. I. L. (First Attempt In Learning). This shift will allow us to get up and try again.
We MUST learn to celebrate our differences, but also celebrate other people’s differences.
TODAY, let us realize that although each one of us is as unique as a snowflake, as valuable as gold, as strong as a diamond; that deep down we all have a skeleton covered with muscles and skin brought to life.
That in each one of us, our lungs bring in the oxygen that the blood delivers to the various organs that are responsible for this life.
Yes, we are ALL different; but then again, we are ALL the same.
For more of my articles, visit
Rebecca Writes The articles and comments in Rebecca Writes relate to living in this crazy world. Articles about being a parent and grandparent to traveling to relationships to education to health and wellness to being a decent human being — and beyond.
Rebecca (Becky) spent 34 years in a teaching career, but when she retired in 2014, she picked up her pen and pursued her passion to write. As a high school English teacher, Becky held the philosophy that she wouldn’t give any writing assignment that she personally wouldn’t or couldn’t do. That philosophy strengthened and broadened her own writing.
In addition to publishing her writing on various platforms, Becky also blogs at Life is for Living, a blog to encourage, motivate, and help others live the best life possible. As an extension of Life is for Living, she also publishes a weekly newsletter, Let’s Chat. (Check it out HERE.) Life is for Living also has a social media presence with the group Coffee on my Porch. (Check it out HERE.)
After teaching writing for 34 years, Becky began Ink & Keyboard, a blog for writers at all levels. She supplements what she writes on the blog with a subscription newsletter, The Writer’s Notebook (Check it out HERE.), the social media group Ink & Keyboard (Check it out HERE.), and a Medium publication Ink & Keyboard (Check it out HERE.).
Here are some other stories you might enjoy
