You are special. You are unique. You are a one of a kind. There is no one else on this earth like you. Did you know that even twins have different fingerprints? It’s true.

Do you ever feel like you just blend into the background? Like faded jeans or washed-out colors? Sometimes, I think the world feels black and white and I’m just another dot on the chart. But, I don’t believe that’s true.

Have you ever seen the Fairly Odd Parents episode where Timmy Turner makes a wish and everyone becomes the exact same? Gray blobs infest the episode and Wanda and Cosmo have a difficult time resolving the situation because they can’t distinguish Timmy from among all the identical blobs. In the end, Timmy found a way to fashion a makeshift little pink hat. When Wanda and Cosmo saw it, they knew that was their gray blob! Timmy’s pink hat sets him apart from everyone else. It’s one of the things that makes him special. We’re all individuals and we all have special talents and passions that combine in unique ways. No one can replace you, no matter how similar your styles are, your tastes are, your looks, etc. You are a completely individual and unique blend of you. There never has been anyone like you and there never will be again.

In our society today, people like to divide everyone into categories and degrade others for being different. If you aren’t like me, then you must be wrong or bad somehow. Now, how ridiculous is that? If I were exactly like you, there’d be no point to having both of us here. But something inside of these people crave being right and good. They have to establish that they’re right and good by putting down any differing opinion, belief, or status. There are any number of ways to divide people! You name it, we can make it divisive in this day and age.

We’re so focused on trying to soothe our insecurities with vain and hateful behaviors that we don’t often stop to see the damage we leave behind. This can surface in any number of ways: bullying, name-calling, political “debates,” trash-talking, gossiping, rumor-spreading…all in the name of trying to make ourselves feel better. By putting others down, we don’t build ourselves up. It doesn’t make you feel any better. If anything, you fall deeper into the pit of despair, just as self-conscious as ever. So, let’s quit the comparison game and start building each other up again. That is the best way to truly find purpose and value. When we focus not on ourselves, but on the needs of others, we find something worth standing up for and believing in. It is only once we have the desire to serve others and live selflessly that we can truly learn to live as we were meant to.

We all want to belong, at least on some level. All of us want to be a part of something. I believe we are creatures of community. We need relationships and other people in our lives. It’s how we were designed. If we were to focus on what brings us together, what similarities we have, then there wouldn’t be room to tear each other down and apart. There is strength in numbers. Try breaking a bundle of sticks over your knee. Doesn’t do anything but leave you bruised. But if you remove a stick from the bundle, suddenly, it’s much easier to accomplish the task. One by one, we can break each other down. Or, we can choose to band together. Once we’ve chosen to be strong and work with others instead of against them by seeing what makes us alike, then we can really have some fun.

Your body is made of many different parts, but it is still one singular body, right? Your arms are different from your feet and your feet are different from your eyes, but your arms, feet, and eyes are all parts of your body. We’ve already established that our similarities bring us together and make us stronger. That’s the body. But now, we get to focus on the different parts. A body functions poorly when one of its parts isn’t working well, so we need all of our parts. Each part serves a different purpose. Eyes aren’t very good for tasting lemon creme cake and noses aren’t very good for hearing the roar of the ocean. Do you like to sing joyfully with your toes? Can you watch the sunset with your belly button? I didn’t think so.

As much as I admire and respect the blind and deaf people of this world, my heart goes out to them. Blind from birth means you never see the plethora of colors on God’s pallet. It means you never see the world from the top of a mountain or the majesty of the Grand Canyon. You can feel the ocean, but you never see the white capped waves crash in on themselves. Deaf men and women have never heard a bird sing merrily in the morning or a child’s delighted scream as she runs from tickling fingers. They’ve never heard a symphony played with such passion that the audience is awestruck, breathless, and in tears. They have a strength that few seeing and hearing people can have, but they’re still missing out.

Each part serves a specific purpose. And so do you. Who you are is so special that there is something in this world that only you can do! You have a purpose that no one else can serve in the way that you can. You may be the eyes. You may be the ears. You may be the left hand or the right, but either way, you serve a purpose that only your unique combination of traits and characteristics can accomplish. Now, not everyone fulfills their potentials and serves their purposes. That’s a choice you have to make. Live intentionally. On purpose.

What makes you special? What makes you different? How can you use that to do something no one has ever done quite like you before? I’m a writer. I belong in that category or group. Yes, there are many writers out there—we may be the same age, we may even write the same genre of stories or in similar styles—but no writer is like me. I am different. And different isn’t always a bad thing. Don’t ever let the world tell you that your differences make you weak or worthless. You were created with such love, such tenderness, and such specificity. You are a one of a kind. No one is like you. So what are you gonna do about it?

Love always,
Coralie

Check out Max Lucado’s children’s book You Are Special. It’s one of my favorites!