Dare to Be a Little Weird

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sparkling Ice Essence Of. All opinions are 100% mine.

Let’s just say, I’ve never been “shy” about marching to the beat of my own drum. I think somewhere around the age of five I must have decided I loved being different.

Doing things my own way, and being a little quirky has been a life long tradition,

whether that meant rocking a buzz cut from the ages of 7-10, wearing a dress completely made out of duct tape to school (with matching shoes to boot), or spending summers making and selling painted rocks.

I’m a firm believer that finding, embracing and owning what makes you weird, nerdy, passionate, quirky and different is going to be the thing that keeps your life exciting every day.

Today I’m teaming up with Sparkling Ice, who believes in celebrating all the things that make us a little weird, a little fun, a little goofy, a little different. Sparkling Ice just launched their newest line of beverages: Essence Of. These drinks are a refreshing take on sparkling water with just the right carbonation. Their unique from any of Sparkling Ice’s other beverages because they have just a flirt of flavor. Essence Of has no artificial flavors, colors or calories, just carbonation and a light hint of flavor. These are perfect for anyone who likes a little fizz without the extra sweet. Learn more about this new sparkling water and flirt with the flavor of Essence Of.

Sparkling Ice believes in celebrating all the things that make us a little weird, a little fun, a little goofy, a little different.

While I may not rock my weird flag quite so visibly as I did growing up, that spirit of quirky rebellion lies in everything I do.

When it comes to work, I realized that rather than rock a steady office job, not matter how perfect the job description, I’m built to do things a little different. This means enduring the rare occurrence of shade that’s thrown when I tell people I’m a barista with a bachelor’s degree. Or not being phased by the blank stares that accompany telling people I want to blog full time.

In relationships this meant tossing out my “cool girl” act. Being totally open about what I wanted and letting people get to know the real (and weird) me, right off the bat.

Totally embracing your awesome, fun loving, flawed, easily excited, passionate, goofy, far from perfect self, can be a little rocky if it’s been a while. So I wanted to share three ways you can get back in touch with the weirdo who lies within.

3 Ways to Nurture You’re Wonderfully Quirky Self

1.) Nerd Out

Have you ever stumbled across a topic, a film, a song, a book… anything that you got insanely curious about? It felt like an unquenchable thirst to learn more. All you wanted to do was talk about this one thing. Of course, any normal human would cut off those urges to dive deep into the rabbit hole of whatever it was, but my friend, next time that happens go for it. Become a total nerd in that thing. Even better? Try to connect with some fellow nerds who share you fascination. Happiness research shows that learning new skills helps to increase your overall levels of wellbeing and happiness. So go get nerdy.

2.) Spend time with different types of people

Everyone’s heard the old saying that you are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with. It’s a little tired and cliche but, it’s also absolutely true. If the people you’re spending all your time with insist upon following all the rules, well maybe it’s time to spice things up.

Some of the best ways I’ve found for making friends who have common interests is by doing those things in groups. Take an art class, Join a book club, take a musical improv class (a real thing that my best friend did and LOVED). You’ll meet all sorts of new types of people that will ignite the inner odd ball in you.

3.) Make Peace With Not Being Everyone’s Cup of Tea

This is probably the hardest, but most important way to cultivate your uniquely awesome spirit. When you spend a lot of time worrying about how you’re being perceived by everyone around you, you start to tone down what makes you special. Not to say you should disregard the feelings of those closest to you, but beyond that, other people’s opinions should be their deal. Your job is to find a life that makes you happy and lights you up, and sometimes that means living in a way where not everyone will “get it.” And that’s cool.

Your Turn:

• What’s one thing that makes you wonderfully weird?

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