Growing up I wanted to fit in but at ever new school I attended (10 new schools in 12 years), they each had different ways to do this.

When I attended a school where we wore a uniform, people would fit in if they had been in the winners box in the four square when we were called in from recess or if you hung upside down on the monkey bars the longest. It was more based on what you could do than who you were as a person.

At the schools where we didn’t wear uniforms, it became more about what you looked like, what you word and where you lived. The emphasis was more on the external rather than the internal.

In both cases, there was a common goal…to fit in, to be accepted and in essence to feel like you belong. Everyone wanted to be a part of a group that was recognized for being cool or rad or whatever lingo was appropriate at the time you were a student.

I remember a poster in my 9th grade science class which had the word MEDIOCRITY in the center of a circle with a slash through it, indicating that mediocrity was not allowed (like the NO Smoking signs). At the time I didn’t know what the word meant and had to look it up. In doing so, it caused me to start to reflect on the message the teacher was sending by putting the poster on the wall, right next the the door for all of us to see as we left the classroom.

It planted a seed in me. I began to think about how if we were all the same, like Storm Troopers from the Star Wars Movies, how uneventful and boring our world would be. It started me on a journey of self love and acceptance. I began to believe that being like everyone else might not be the right goal.

I started at a new school in the 10th grade and fitting in wasn’t as much my focus as was finding out how I fit into my own skin. For example, I had a pair of plaid orange and red capri pants which I loved to wear and felt I looked ‘cute’ when I wore them. I walked taller and they made me smile whenever I’d catch a glace of them. In 1990 these capri pants were NOT the way to fit in!

I believe I was leaning into the Holy Spirit to allow me to shine. To allow my true self to come through without the expectation of what others thought. Let me tell you, I wasn’t starting any trends with those pants but I was getting to know who I was beneath them.

We all have different gifts and abilities to bring to the world so it doesn’t make sense for me to follow the crowd and try to be something I’m not. I can’t follow the path that everyone else is on because it is not my own, it’s not who I was created to be. I won’t settle for mediocre when I know I was made to shine!

The criteria for fitting in today as an adult has no bearing on me. I still lean into the Holy Spirit for guidance and for the light that leads the way. ***Disclaimer: The road can be bumpy and lonely at times*** I heard someone say that if the path before you is well worn then it is not your path. Let the Holy Spirit lead you on the right path so you can shine on too!