Your Quirks are Your Gifts.

I was in 6th grade, living in Morocco, my teacher was Canadian and he sat at the head of a classroom filled with  a small intimate group of kids from all different backgrounds, mostly Muslim, having a conversation that would have put "Dead Poets Society" to shame. In fact, if I remember correctly my teacher kind of looked like Robin Williams. I remember the horrified looks on the faces of the students when he asked us to admit something we didn't particularly like about ourselves- that we thought was odd or different. Then he had us all go around and tell that student why that odd thing was awesome. It was a long time ago, but I do remember some of the students becoming emotional as they heard from the outside perspective that their oddity could actually be a strength. My insecurity at the time was that I was the only one non fluent in French or Arabic- the two other strong languages that influenced my school. I remember quietly admitting that many times I felt lost and alone because of the language barrier. It made me feel like an outcast, and sometimes without meaning to, the kids would overlook me because I couldn't communicate. I don't remember all of the feedback, but I do remember one girl, she had a thick Hindi accent as she told me that because I could not understand in words what everyone was saying all of the time, I was learning how to observe other ways of communication. She was right, from a young age (I had lived overseas from the time I was 4 years old) I learned how to read body language, voice tones, eye expression, and energy in order to survive and communicate. The one thing that made me the most insecure growing up had actually made me a very precise observer. It's from that insecurity that I began to develop my intuition and become the strong mystic that I am today.

Like you, I've spent most of my life feeling different, odd, and outside of the social norm. Sometimes I felt like hiding, blending in, and covering up. Those were the times when I felt the most uncomfortable, sad, dark and depressed. Even though it's scary to shine your light, it just naturally feels better. It is a relief when you find the benefit of being odd. Over the past 20 years of doing readings, I've come to realize that everyone has their quirks, and whenever they are embraced, it can actually give clues into a life purpose. Ask yourself what is the one thing that makes you most insecure? What has the oddity taught you? What strength did you have to develop because of it? By acknowledging, accepting, and using your quirkiness, you could very easily be lead onto a beautiful life journey meant just for you!