When Weird is OK.

For real though, you’ve got to be a little odd to want to spend your free time outside in the dirt. When I tell people my vacation plans include a tent, a backcountry campsite, eating meals off a tiny, gas powered stove and not showering for a week, they generally look at me with pity. As if I can’t afford to go anywhere nice so this is my only option.

And, while they’re correct in their assumption that I can’t afford to go anywhere nice, the fact remains that, even if I could, I would still choose the option detailed above.

As lovers of the outdoors, we embrace the dirt. We understand that a good vacation by our standards usually includes silence, a fishing pole and a decent camp pad. We know that the first day without a shower is usually the toughest and, after that, you just adapt to a lower maintenance hairdo, throw on another layer of deodorant and resign yourself to the fact that you may need to pick up some Drain-O on your way home.

If we choose to vacation with others, we quickly weed out those that require power, running water and constant entertainment. We surround ourselves with like-minded individuals who don’t mind that we might take on an “earthy” smell over the next few days. We find those that can embrace our weirdness with us.

We find our tribe.

I attended our second annual Hike Like a Woman retreat this past weekend and there was a lot of talk about weird. Feeling weird, being weird, embracing weird. Essentially, we were all in agreement that we were, are and will likely always be a little weird…and that’s ok. Because we found each other.

There are a lot of ways you can meet other weirdos out there. Some people claim to understand the weird and, when you get down to it, they just don’t. However you choose to do it, I highly encourage expanding your tribe. You’re not alone. There are more of us out there than you might think. And guess what? When you’re in a group of other weirdos, you’re no longer weird…you’re normal.

It’s pretty cool.