In my younger years, I was considered a normal kid, but something must have happened because now I feel as if I ihave a totally different way of thinking than everyone else. I have different opinions on politics, clothes, books, and ideas. The strange thing is that I am proud of that. It's not everyday you meet someone who acts the way I do. In some ways I'm a normal teenager, but in some ways I am not.

What really bothers me is that people sometimes make bad remarks on the way I act, think, and dress. Who determines what is normal and what is not?

I ask myself that question everyday. People are more interesting if they are strange. People who are independent receive more respect from me. Why can't people be themselves?