The Reader Travels

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has a lot to teach us about embracing our individuality. The Island of Misfit Toys is a place where insecure freaks go to grumble about being victims of a society that doesn’t want them. Boo hoo! Rudolph didn’t belong there, because he didn’t enjoy the pity party. Rudolph wanted to let his little light shine, literally. So he left.

I have often found myself on the fringe, never in the popular crowd, never really wanting to be. Sure I’m a bit of a misfit, but I’m also an observer. It’s interesting the people you meet on the fringe. Lots of them look at the popular ones with longing, hoping for acceptance, scraping on windows, their noses pressed to the glass. Please, please love me. Many of them spit vitriol, acting like they hate the in-crowd, while they secretly long to be on the inside, playing “reindeer games” and all that.

My brother-in-law asked me the question today, did the misfit toys choose to go to the island, or were they sentenced there like it was a prison? The answer is, both! It feels like a prison sentence when you’re pushed out. No one loves you, no one sees your worth. But the only thing that kept those toys in that prison was themselves. The misfits chose defeat. They chose to be outcast so they could stand around resenting other toys and feeling like they were somehow superior.

Rise up, ye misfits of the world. Turn on your shiny, red nose. Sing your song and dance your dance. Stop being so pathetic and self-righteous. But don’t go out and join a sorority either; that’s just gross.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 24th, 2006 at 7:00 pm and is filed under meanderings, sweetness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.