Odd Socks

My kids went to school in odd socks this morning. It’s to raise awareness around Anti-Bullying week – to suggest that everyone is an odd sock in some way or another, to celebrate what makes us different.

I was bullied at school. The kid who beat me up lived opposite my house and played in the street with his friends. I literally hid inside, shied away from the windows in case he could see me, I remember lying on the floor to avoid being seen. It stopped me from going out, going into town, doing the outdoor things kids did.

So I stayed inside.

I taught myself how to programme. I drew. I read. My parents encouraged and supported my curiosity, and I grew to become who I am today. From bedroom programmer on my ZX Spectrum, to building websites for EMI Records (still in the bedroom), to starting a design agency with friends, to leading change and strategy in a global business.

I’m still cautious of people today. I’m still a homebody. I’m still fearful of saying or doing something which might come across wrong.

But I wear odd socks most days. Nothing to do with bullying – simply, I don’t really see the point in matching socks. And a strange thing happens – people mention them, and we get talking.

Standing out from the rows of matching ankles is not A Bad Thing™. It creates something to talk about and starts a conversation which leads to two people knowing a little more about each other.

It isn’t easy. People often scoff and sneer. But once you ask yourself … how much do you really care about someone who worries about whether two socks are the same colour or not?

Today – kids can’t hide in their bedrooms. Connectivity in every pocket, in every room, means there is nowhere to hide. It might not be physical bullying, but emotional and psychological bullying is rife. And not just towards children. Small every day pokes and microaggressions build up and eat away at people in the workplace, and in the street. Prejudice and bias, even just bad management and workplace bullying and belittling are all too common.

We have come a long way, and still have a long way to go. But this week, as we try and shine a light on anti-bullying, I want to embrace all the odd socks I know.

All the people who don’t fit in, all the people who swim the wrong way, all the people who talk differently, ask obvious questions, who can’t do sport or won’t conform. All the people who don’t look average, who don’t want to do what everyone else is doing, who. have something fresh to add, who bring a new perspective, who are passionate about something beyond sense, who believe in what they do.

Because they are not misfits. We don’t tessilate perfectly as society. It’s the rough edges and overlaps, the misshapen and strange pieces which bump and cause friction and a moment to think differently, it’s the odd socks which make society a better place to be.

We are all odd socks, and I love working with odd socks. They’re the most interesting, wonderful, special, strange, surprising and insightful people. If it’s a choice between a pair of grey covered ankle, or something that stands out – I’m with the latter every time.

So today – if you haven’t already, do something different. Stand up and stand out. Put your arm around someone who also is different from you, and recognise that your socks now match.

You’re both odd, and that’s what makes you both brilliant, and diversity a richness we can never have enough off.