Dare to Be Different - Floral

DARE TO BE DIFFERENT - Photo #4

Our world is full of messages to "conform".   When you conform to a way of being like everyone else, you fit in, you're accepted, you belong.  Which to me is totally backwards of the way we're intended to be.  We are each made unique and different.  Our life experiences make us feel differently and behave differently than anyone else.  By trying to conform and be like everyone else, we disrespect and dishonor who it is we're intended to be!  As young as elementary school, I can remember being pressured to be like everyone else and fit in.  In 5th grade, we had to complete a special project to write, illustrate and bind together a book.  I can remember many of the kids picking a topic for their book just like their friends or the kid sitting next to them, in an effort to be accepted and fit in.  I decided to go my own way.  As a result, my book won the contest and was then published and put into the school library.  If I had conformed to the pressure to be like all the other kids, I doubt I would have received the honor I did.  It was then and there I realized being different is a good thing.  And I decided for my own benefit, being different and unique was the only way I would succeed. 

Over the years, I continued to struggle to maintain my individuality, because everywhere we go, we face that pressure to conform, fit in, and be part of the group.  It happens in school, in the workplace, in recreational activities and church.  Sometimes I'd do it for a while, but I'd always end up going my own way in the end when I realized how unhappy I was.  It's only been over the past few years I've made a point to stay on my own path, despite what anyone else says, especially with my art and photography.  I don't do things the way the professional photographers do things.  I don't do things the way the traditional art world says I should.  And as a result, I don't fit in anywhere.  But that's okay, because once I stopped trying to conform to what everyone told me I should be doing, I started making a good income from my art and photography.  As a result of daring to be different, my work is now licensed and available in the retail markets, both online and off.  But most of all, allowing myself to be unique and stay true to my goals and desires has created something within me I couldn't get in any other way -- true happiness.

So my message with this photo is to celebrate who you are as an individual and dare to be different.  Like the purple Iris flower in a sea of yellow Irises, you will stand out and become the star of your own life. :)

InJoy,

Jai

See gifts with the "Dare to Be Different" Purple Iris Flower here and here.