WordPress, which I love, has a new feature that provides a writing prompt each day.  One that caught my attention was “what makes someone unique?”  The idea of individuality – ie uniqueness – gets right at the heart of what it means to be human.  Sadly, there are times when our individuality sets us apart from the rest of society due to no fault of our own.

When do we learn in elementary school that the “other” is not OK?  I’d love to think that things have changed since I was bullied in early elementary school due to my appearance, mostly height and weight, but I’m not that naive.  I’ve watched in recent years as various school districts have tried to address the root of bullying with varying degrees of success.  Unfortunately, it all starts at home.  Children need to learn from a young age that we are all different.  We all have different talents and ambitions, as well as strengths and weaknesses.  All of us – all eight billion people on Earth – face challenges at different stages in life.

There are certain things that a person may experience in life that no one will fully understand unless they have been through it – or something similar.  For example, unless you have lost a parent or a child, it is impossible to truly understand that level of grief.  It is similar when dealing with infertility.  Unless you are affected, it is impossible to imagine the depth to which it alters one’s life.

Aside from all that sets us apart from one another, including our challenges, there are interests.  My interests are vastly different from that of my siblings or parents.  I’m used to it, and over the years, I’ve developed those interests through various opportunities and friendships, both in real life and online.

If I had one wish for students today, it would be for them to have all the resources necessary to first find their interests and then have the ability and support to pursue them further.  How many people have stopped doing something they enjoy simply because someone discouraged them, saying they had no talent?  I see and hear about it all of the time.  It saddens and sickens me.  We should be encouraging healthy interests, as well as providing students outlets to develop them.  For example, a student who enjoys art should be encouraged to pursue that interest as much as possible, even if there is no interest in making art a career.It comes down to expectations.  At times, we focus so much on making ends meet that we need to make a life.  We need to teach students that there is so much more to life than material things.  It is more than OK to be yourself.  You need to be your authentic self.