Do you really want to be different?

Backgroundstory really got me thinking with this picture and statement.

http://thebackgroundstory.com/2013/07/25/vol-3-ch-7-p-3/

You want to know what makes people laugh.
I want to know what makes them cry.
We’re different that way.
But we both know our goals are the same.
We just want to know if we’re just like them.

I ponder and think about the words compared to the picture of the two children looking at each other.  The story I read in the picture is different then what was written.  I puzzled over why I read the picture differently.  The little girl seems to have a look of "please, like me."  I realized, that is me projecting my insecurities onto the image.  I watch the teenagers at the school where I work trying so hard to be different but looking just like their friends.  In counseling, I wanted to become 'normal.'  Only to slowly realized that my childhood made me different.  Very different.  I had few memories of my own childhood.  To gain insight on what made me tick my counselor had me read books that came about 'this is bad', 'this is worse' and this is 'worse case scenario'.  Time and time again my situation and how I reacted fell into the 'worse case scenario' category.  I finally exclaimed in exasperation, "Can I be special in some other way?"  There it is...I wanted to be different and special but not for negative reasons.  I integrated to become more like other people but the bottom line is I still think differently.  I am hyper-vigilant.  I am more comfortable with computers and spreadsheets then I am chatting with a bunch of coworkers for a luncheon.  However, I craved reading upsi's blogs and others because they opened a window to their lives and let me see that I am not so different.  I want to be unique just like everybody else.