What, Me Normal?

Anybody who knows me well enough will probably laugh if I suggest that I am a nonconformist. I assure you, I am not one. When it comes to following RULES, I do it stringently. No questions asked. However, when it comes to day-to-day things, I have very different ways of doing things. And this is something I take pride in.
Let's start from the very beginning. When I wake up each morning, I make it a point to do it with a smile. I get out of bed as soon as I can - I'm not usually the type to laze around in bed. And I go through the day with a smile on my face. Most of the time. And I tend to bounce through the day. (This can be confirmed by anyone who's seen me!) Still not convinced I'm weird?
My food habits. For starters, I love food of all sorts. (I don't eat red meat, and I'm not over-fond of bread or eggs. Give me anything else and I'll eat it. What's more, I'll enjoy it.) I choose to eat not in large quantities, but it small quantities at greater frequency. Which leads to my nickname of 'food girl' or 'fruit girl' at college. The latter nickname is due to the fact that most of the time, I eat fruits. And I absolutely love 'em. And veggies as well. But none of that is really weird. What's really weird is the way I approach a buffet. I eat every single item on the menu (unless it's got red meat in it) and then on my last round, pick out my favourites and eat an extra helping of those. I must be the only non-vegetarian I know who actually faithfully eats the salads as well. And I do it because I love them. The other day when I was making 'chaat' for myself, my mum pointed out something that I hadn't noticed before. I make my 'chaat' by pouring the chutneys one by one on each 'paapdi'. I do it with love. Actually, I deal with all my food with love. Why? No idea. It just feels good somehow.
Over the last couple of years, I've kinda figured I'm what I like to call 'anti-cool'. Don't get me wrong. I don't go around wearing yellow shirts and pink pants just because I don't want to look 'cool'. I'm just afraid of being lost in the crowd of people that is trying to be in with it at all times. And my idea of 'cool' is how I look normally, which is quite different from everybody else's description of 'cool'. Most of the time, I wear clothes that gives most people a headache - either too bright or too colourful. I've got tons of jibes for doing this but I don't care. Actually, I kind of enjoy it. Because when people don't see my style my way, I know that it's still MY style, and no one else's. I've got a multi-coloured tye-and-die hippie t-shirt, a red-and-white chequered candygirl t-shirt (which my sister likes to call the caterer's daughter t-shirt!), a flower girl belt, a multi-coloured stripey scarf with a knitted cap to match, a t-shirt with fish all over it... The list goes on. Also, though practically every girl I know rolls up the sleeves of her (ugly, dirty, grey, auto driver-esque) workshop uniform, I refuse to do so. Because it's just not me.
And there are other things - As I've said earlier, I love things that are old. Old music, old movies, old books, old fashion. I was born fifty years too late. I iron my pants with the crease on the side, not in the front like normal people. My favourite TV show is still Full House. (I can't stand Friends!) I need to go to sleep by 10.30 to feel satisfied. I need to sleep at least eight hours a day to function properly. I've eaten a glass bottle, cockroach repellent and mud. (Told you I eat anything!) When I sing, I tend to sing the background vocals rather than the main tune. When people start talking, I tend to pick up phrases they use and start singing songs which include these phrases. I sing in the bathroom. I'm one of the most scrupulous people I know (and most people think this is a bad thing!). I can think of a ton of things that are weird about me, but I should probably stop here.
The thing is, I have a constant need to stand out from the rest. And when I say need, I mean need, not want. I cannot bear to be lost in the crowd. I must have something which sets me apart from the rest. And, as my parents have pointed out most of the time, I usually do this inadvertently. Because who I am is just different. We all are, really, in some way or the other. And I find very often that those I am closest to are the most different from me. And we need to celebrate these differences. Because it takes five completely different fingers to make a fist. It takes seven completely different colours to make a rainbow. It takes billions of completely different people to make the world go round. Differences are the only escape we have from the normal, the mundane. And believe it or not, what makes us the most different from the rest is what brings us closest together.