Why I'm not freaky enough to be a Freak, or Normal enough to be named Norm

This all came about as a reaction to a few friends of mine starting this cool thing called the Freak Revolution. You can go to http://freakrevolution.com to learn more about them. I love them - and by them I mean Pace and Kyeli, who started the freak revolution. I came upon them while they were doing The Usual Error, which was very freak-positive, but applied equally to non-freakies and psudo-freakies like myself. Because I loved them, I joined up and signed up for the discussion boards and Google group and the like. I've only posted once, on the introductions page.

So why am I not active in the Freak Revolution? I love the people who started it, and I love some of the more active members. Why don't I speak up more? It's the same reason I don't speak up more in groups of very socially normal people. I'm not like them.

See, the application for the Freak Revolution asked a few simple questions, one of which was "What Flavor of Freak Are You?" I had a very hard time answering this question. Because while I might be a bit of a nerd, I am not a freak. Think about it: I'm a 22 year old woman, I am in a monogamous relationship with a man, and we have one baby. We play video games, I go to college, and my husband works at Wal-Mart. We go to a Christian church on Sundays, eat meat at most meals, watch a lot of television and celebrate most national holidays. I don't have any tattoos, my ears are the only thing on my body pierced, and the most crazy color I've ever had in my hair was a bright red that at the end of the week looked sort of natural anyway.

I'm just not very freaky. I have a freakish sense of humor I guess. I'm freakishly overweight. I like zombie movies and webcomics and D&D and WoW... but that kind of freakitude pales in comparison to the Bi-poly-trans-pagan-geeks that Freak Revolution is made for. My introduction piece basically could have said "The freakiest thing about me is that I love freaks" and been pretty accurate. I do love freaks. My Bi-poly-trans-pagan-geeks are some of the nicest, coolest, most interesting people I've ever met. But if Freak Revolution was meant to give them a place to feel comfortable where they're not in the minority for being freaks, then I'm the one in the minority.

In the Freak Revolution, I am the freak, sticking out like a... well, like a freak.

I have no problem with being a freak. I actually find myself wishing I could be freakier... you know, so I could fit in? But that's not who I am. I think there was a point in my life where I had two options: be a freak, or be a Norm. I had no problem with either path. There's a little freak inside me who whispers in my ear every now and again: Wouldn't dying your hair blue be seriously AWESOME?!? But I don't because I chose a path of being a brown-haired mommy. I'm ok with that. I'm just a little boring. Sometime in the future I might give in, just to get a taste of the freak within. But it hasn't happened yet.

I think the biggest problem I have with the freaks is that they keep asking me what I think is wrong with the world. And I do think there are some wrong things. But really, I think the world's a pretty cool place and the things that are wrong with it have to do with people trying to pretend to be things they aren't. Like people who will do anything to become rich when their most marketable ability is that they're willing to hurt people for money, or people who choose to believe that people who are different aren't worth love, respect, or dignity. I think most if not all of the world's problems wittle down to these at their core.

So I'm going to take a tip from my Freaky Friends and be the change I wish to see in the world.

My name is Green. I am not a Freak, but I am Freak-Positive. I am not willing to hurt people for money, power, or esteem. I think that people who are freaky deserve love, respect, and dignity.

Unfortunately, this makes me different from a good majority of my peers. Hey, I think I just found my freaky-thing.