On a flight the other day a fellow passenger lumbered slowly in front of me. She was one of those people who elbow themselves to get on the plane first. Usually these ‘important’ people are frequent travelers and they are pretty swift about getting on the plane. They get on quickly, set themselves up, and get out of everyone’s way. So it’s usually not much of a big deal.

As a dedicated follower of fashion it’s no surprise that Martin Margiela is one of my heroes. Sigh. He is known for pushing the fashion envelope time and time again. In turn, he started trend after trend. Cut up denim, Margiela. Bizarre show locations, Margiela. Recycling, Margiela. Tabi Shoes, Margiela. And, possibly the most influential, the oversized look. Yes, also Margiela.

My grandmother’s name was Joyce, a name she detested but a name that was very fitting. She was a grown up kid in most respects; and less grown-up, way more kid. Her favorite comment was “oh, pooh to that” which she would say to any convention she planned to summarily reject. “It’s too early for a drink”, “it’s too cold to sit outside” and my favorite “you will spoil the kids” were regularly dismissed with a glint in her eye and a clear defiance of ‘the rules’.

Every day I see another blog about some perfect person's perfect morning routine. Cold plunges, meditation, journaling, gratitude diaries, no coffee (people really!), no food (intermittent fasters), and my yoga friends would add a few sun salutations into the mix. Dave Asprey, supreme life hacker, would no doubt add about 10 other things.

For the last year and a half I have been eating a plant-based diet. This means I don’t eat any animal products, also known as ‘being vegan’. People have two reactions when I tell them my food preferences. A small minority are really interested and ask me a bunch of questions about what I eat and how I feel. The majority of people react to it like I am personally offending them by my food choices. The more hilarious people respond with the highly original joke “How do you know if someone is a vegan? They will tell you!”.

My favorite advice to give people, especially young people, is "embrace your weirdness". I’m not suggesting you necessarily rock up to a job interview with blue lipstick, though in certain contexts that could work. More, I am suggesting that you do all those things you feel drawn to doing without first calculating whether it’s normal. Normal is boring. In a cluttered and crowded world ‘normal’ will not help you stand out.