"Normal"

            Howdy, one and all, and welcome to From the Mind of One Tim Cubbin! I am your guide, Tim Cubbin. I figure you were kind of expecting that, though, but, then again, you never know.

            But now, let’s get serious. You saw that the title is “Normal,” and the tags/hashtags attracted your attention, so that’s really great you’re here because this topic is very important to me, and I’m happy you’re taking the time to read this post. So my friends and family, previous readers of this blog, and viewers of my web series “Bipolar Opposites” know my condition: I have bipolar disorder. And I’m not afraid to admit that. It’s part of who I am, it’s what makes me me, and I totally own it. I didn’t choose to have the disorder, it’s not my fault, I didn’t ask for it, it’s just something I was born with. I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve been hospitalized several times over the years, that I’ve been in therapy since I was five years old, and I’m on medications. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with me.

            And this brings me to my point: “normal.” A word I hate when you talk about another human being. I’ve discussed the topic briefly in prior posts, so you might know that already, but this post is dedicated specifically to the topic and to introduce myself to first-time readers. Anyway, let’s talk about the word normal. Some readers know I like to reference dictionary.com for certain terms, and this is no exception. There are several definitions for the word, but the one I’m taking is actually referring to psychology, which is exactly what I want. Here it is: “approximately average in any psychological trait, as intelligence, personality, or emotional adjustment. free from any mental disorder; sane.” Okay, may I say: I HATE THIS! HOW DARE YOU TAKE THE WORD “NORMAL” AND SAY THIS? I FIND THIS EXTREMELY, AND EVEN BEYOND OFFENSIVE AND INSULTING! SO YOU’RE SAYING I’M BIPOLAR SO I’M NOT “NORMAL?” (Sorry to use flaming, the journalism term for typing in all caps, but I’m in the moment for saying how offended I am.) And I’m sure that EVERY person with mental illness, learning disorders, disabilities, and on the autism spectrum will agree with me that THIS IS OFFENSIVE! So if you hear voices or see things that aren’t there, you are not normal. If you are mentally retarder, you are not normal. If you have borderline personality disorder, you are not normal. If you have bipolar disorder, you are not normal. If you are schizophrenic, you are not normal. If you’ve ever been in a mental hospital, you are not normal. This is THE MOST OFFENSIVE THING I HAVE EVER READ! How can you say WE ARE NOT “NORMAL?” Who decided that? And a psychological definition says this? In a DICTIONARY? WHAT. THE. WHAT? No. Just. NO! I mean. HONESTLY.

            And on top of that, how can you say that ANY human being is “normal?” So there’re specific personality traits that make a person “normal?” EVERY HUMAN BEING IS DIFFERENT! If you don’t fit a paragon of perfection, you’re not “normal?” And you know the phrase, the ONE PHRASE that I hate the most? My dad’s wife said it to me once: “Why can’t you act like a normal human being?” That has to be THE MOST OFFENSIVE THING THAT HAS EVER BEEN SAID TO ME! So what makes her, what gives her the right to say I’m not normal? So I act different than her, I’m not “normal?” Again, I’m bipolar, she’s not, I’m unemployed, she’s a nurse (now retired, but she was a nurse at the time of saying it) I have a tricky memory, she’s got great recall; so she’s normal, I’m not? HONESTLY? I have NEVER been more insulted in my entire life. I was bullied in school because I acted a little “differently” than most of the other students, so I wasn’t “normal?” What is normal? You CANNOT say that ANY ONE person is normal. You just can’t.

            I’d like to return to dictionary.com again. An adjective definition of normal is “conforming to the standard or the common type; usual; not abnormal.” What is “standard?” What is “the common type?” What is “usual?” What is “not abnormal?” How can you define that? What are the exact traits that fit the profile? How can you apply these words to any human, to any human behavior? I can’t.

            Now, I’ve said this in pretty much every single one of my posts that I can’t expect you to agree with me. Some of you have read to this point and think I’m off base, that my points are invalid, that I’m wrong. I respect that. I respect YOU. But there are those of you who think I’ve made good points, feel the same way, and agree with every single word I’ve said. I you do, that makes me very happy. But you’re entitled to your own opinions. This is my opinion. Some of you may have read this and now feel that I MYSELF am not normal. If you do, that’s fine, that’s all you. Feel how you feel. Whatever you want to think, keep on thinking. If you have anything you’d like to say, feel free to comment on whatever platform you’re reading this on. If you’re on Twitter, please follow me, retweet my posts, whatever you feel like doing. If you like this post, feel free to look at more of my posts, I’ve done over sixty, there’s plenty of other things you can enjoy. I do other editorials and essays like this (being an unemployed certified journalist), prose/graphic novel reviews, short stories, and poetry, so whatever floats your boat, feel free to peruse my work. I’ll be back soon, so until then, I say, Tim Cubbin… out!