The latter of the year has always been my favorite. With my birthday setting off four months of celebrations, I find a time of release I suspect the universe spills out just for me. I say this because it is the only time of the year where I could unapologetically be the little weirdo that I am.

I have always been the weird friend, but a cute weird some say, guessing to soften the comment. Growing up, I was the only child in my neighborhood that went through a goth and rock phase, listening to Lincoln Park, Fall Out Boy, and The Killers. Imagine growing up in the projects on the west side of Chicago and playing "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence. I had to have been one of the only kids around who wasn’t scared by that music video. I wouldn’t be surprised if some parents saw me as a creepy kid. Going to college, I met girls who found my love for anime, musicals, and black and white murder films a little strange. For a while, I didn’t really understand it, what made me weird. But when I compared my hobbies to those of my friends and family, I started to understand what made me weird and started to feel isolated. Everyday I would notice something off about myself, my style of clothing, the shows I watch, and the way I wanted to spend my free time. None of what I enjoyed was the same as everyone else. After a period of getting stared at like an experiment, I dulled down my unearthly traits and tried to play normal.

With all the many times being labeled weird, I never felt like an outsider when Halloween rolled around.

Horror, sci-fi, thrillers, and slashers are the number one movies that play in my house. One factor that made me a little strange. Even though I’m one of those people who jumps during movies, keeps their eyes closed through a haunted house, and sleeps with cartoons playing in the background to force happy dreams and not monster nightmares, I love everything Halloween. The witches, monsters, and spooky treats put me in a festive mood to celebrate my love of weird things. Although I may have some people question if I might cast a spell on them or possibly be an alien, I find most are more open to strange and different with a holiday around it.

But watching everyone enjoy this holiday made me realize something;I never felt weird until I was called weird. For some time, I did take it as an insult. Worried about how others perceive me, thinking of ways to fit in, to be normal. Doing that, though, only made me unhappy. I wasn’t feeling like myself and felt my every monitored by the normal police. And when you’re doing so much work to find yourself, having it undone based on others views of how you are supposed to act will bring you to the realization that what they are saying is stopping you from truly glowing.

So I say, shut those boring people up and embrace your weirdness. They are looking at greatness that they may never understand, so don’t try to fit into their bubble. Change their narrative of weird for yourself and never take it as an insult. Be odd! You are that extra spice in life that doesn’t conform to the whole meal. You stand out, so stand proud.

And it doesn’t only have to reach the realm of hollows eve, stay weird every day. Whether you’re into cosplay, Afropunk, tarot reading, comic books, or getting pierced in every place possible on your body, it’s your life. So live it how you want. So what if others turn their face a certain way or make shady comments when they don’t catch on to your Edward Elric short jokes or Craft references. They are missing out on a whole world of wonders and possibilities.

To those who may be a little on the normal side, it’s okay, we don’t judge over here. So try not to either. Instead, tap into your strangeness. You may be surprised and find yourself.

To my fellow weird girls, heyyy. I love you and you are awesome every day. You’re creative, vibrant, and uniquely un-ordinary. You are brave and never silenced. Walk-in your platform shoes, with your colored patches of hair and leopard kitty ears held high, and wear your weirdness with pride.

To My Fellow Weirdos | Stay Strange After Halloween