I met a girl when I was in second grade and we became fast friends. We were best friends up until our sophomore year of high school. We only had one thing in common: we love listening to country music. She loves to dance and is really really smart. She is attending Brigham Young University-Idaho and wants to major in elementary education (or she was last I heard). She's married now and has a little girl. I love to play the piano and the flute, read novels, write, and sing. I am going to BYU-Idaho and I want to major in marriage and family studies.
I'm even very different from my family members. My three sisters love to play volleyball and basketball. I hate sports with a passion because I'm no good at them. The only thing all four of us have in common is that we play the piano (and we didn't even have a choice in that matter).
It's so strange how being different can be one of the greatest things in our lives. Heavenly Father created us differently. He created us to look different, to have different interests, and to believe different things. I am so glad that I'm not like everybody else. For a long time, I wanted to be like everybody else. When I got a little older, I realized that I love being different. I love having my own interests and ideas. I love myself the way I am.
On one hand, though, I think sometimes people are trying a little too hard to be different and to stand out from the crowd. In my opinion, that just turns people off. I think if we don't try too hard, then we can be different without being eager about it.
One of the General Authorities told us that we are a "peculiar people". When I was in Seminary, we had a lesson about this. My teacher, Brother Saunders, told the class that the word "peculiar" could also be interpreted as "worth Christ's life." I thought that was interesting.
In the world today, most people believe we are peculiar because we believe in Christ, we believe that He lives, we believe in revelation, we believe in eternal families, the list goes on and on.
It's okay to be different from other people. It's okay to express yourself differently. Being different means that you are putting your mark on this world in your own way. It's okay to be yourself. If others don't like you for who you are, that is completely their loss.
