The Perks of Being Average

Edison Von Ditmar
Jul 20, 2017 · 3 min read
There isn’t a person on Earth who escapes the necessity of laundry. It is the great equalizer.

As the story of our lives unfold across the vastness of space and time, most of us, I’d be comfortable to saying 90% of the people on this planet, are just average. We’re not famous, or rich; we drive used cars and live in apartments that we don’t own, and we work regular jobs. Most people are really concerned that they aren’t famous or rich or drive $80,000 sports cars; but I think that we all should embrace our averageness.

Average is what we are. I don’t want there to be a negative connotation when I use this word. We are all average. And being average is beautiful; it’s simple and comfortable. I live in a large city, in a small one bedroom apartment with my wife. She works as a office assistant at a fertility clinic down the street; I work at a clothing store while I continue working on my bachelors degree; I sit at home on my days off and write blog posts and I have been known to go out and play music on occasion. My life is simple and I love it. At no point in the recent future have I thought to myself, “oh man, my life would be complete if I could only live in a bigger apartment,” or “If I could just make it big with my music, my life would be so much better”. Life isn’t about how big your apartment is or how much money you make or whether or not you become famous (because it is likely not to happen), it’s about appreciating who you are and how amazing your very average life is. I love my life more so because of how normal it is.

I am a huge fan of the TV series The Office because of how normal it is. My favourite character is Jim for a lot of reasons, but the biggest reason I like Jim is because of his attitude. When I first watched season 9 I was devastated when Jim and Pam started having marriage issues because of Jim’s new start up. But, after watching the series over and over again, and that season in particular I noticed something; I figured out how I want to live my life. Jim decides that his simple average life with Pam is scranton is more important to him than professional recognition, money, power or any other personal gain. To him there was nothing that was more important than him family. I think that that is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever learned from a television binge-fest. If you haven’t watched The Office I would highly recommend that you do.

“Not enough for me…”

Life is so much more than just owning stuff, or being recognizable to complete strangers. We should strive to be recognizable to the ones that we love and who care for us. We spend so much time worrying about the opinions of people we don’t like that we can lose focus on those who love us and whose opinions actually matter. Being average allows me the ability to make a fool of myself in front random people on the street, cause I’ll likely never see them again and at least I’m having a good time. I can love more deeply and feel closer to the people I care about. So much of advertising and corporate marketing is saying “Don’t be average, be more…” or something equally as negative. But, be comfortable with who you are; embrace your averageness. Use it love deeper, make more meaningful connections, not just with those around you but with yourself. Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not special just because you’re average; being average makes you special. Live your life; love your life; don’t waste it wishing that you had more, just go and live and be more like Jim Halpert.

Cheers, Ed.

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