Why is Ordinary not Extraordinary?

Ordinary sounds less than extraordinary. Add a few extra letters- 5 in fact and the word changes. I feel ordinary most of the time. This is not to say I lack confidence or self-value. I know I am awesome. I search for ways of betterment. I love being a teacher and I am never complacent about it. I know what  do is important. But this does not bring to my mind extraordinary skills. I am good at what I do- but am I worthy of those extra 5 letters?

I do not seek them. I seek to be ordinary because most of us are- we are not less than or mere unordinary- we are us. I always say to people- "Be You"- flamboyant and energetic, calm and introverted. Be kind. Make the world a better place. Strive for mindfulness and finding joy in the little things. But do so, being you. When you are positive, friendly and open-minded you are ordinary. For most of us are. This does not devalue our experiences or existence it just puts things into perspective.

When you grow up being told you are extraordinary, that you are perfect- this creates a sense of entitlement. But when you are told you are ordinary and kind- that you make the world better because you.... then you feel not entitled but invested. You want to do the things that bring joy to others. You want to participate and grow. You want to stay ordinary and amazing. This might seem an odd way to look at the world- and it is.

I was bullied severely as a child- told I was the weirdo or nerd. The unordinary, awkward geek. I heard others being told they were extraordinary- that they had what it takes to be a GOAT. I thought that was odd. Not me, the ordinary girl from California. I did not want to stand out. But I also did not want to be considered unordinary. I liked the thought of ordinary- it put me where I needed to be- with others like me. Those who were themselves and worked hard and treated others with kindness.

These days being ordinary seems to have a connotation of less than. But the extraordinary people to me are not those who are preaching kindness- they are those frustrated and causing havoc - throwing fits on airplanes and performing acts of violence or sending out negative and mean Tweets, videos etc. These are the extraordinary- not because they are better but because they are outliers. Extra to me does not mean better, it simply means different.

So for me- I appreciate that I am ordinary. That I have amazing qualities. That I work hard to earn my keep. That I am open-minded and I accept different points of view. I am not demeaning myself by believing I am ordinary because I am in the largest group, the group of people who value kindness and growth. So here I stay an ordinary girl from California. Bettering myself and learning every day. I do not need the extra five letters- extra does not mean better. I prefer the six letters: growth. The seven letters: mindful. The eight letters: learning.