Is it the Weirdos and Creatives Who Make Life Worth Living?
I am grateful for the weirdos (no offense intended). You know the ones—the misfits, the eccentrics, the people who don’t quite fit the mold. They’re the ones who walk into a room and tilt the atmosphere just slightly, like the first brushstroke on a blank canvas. (In my neighborhood of mostly seniors, we have an 83-year old former academic who often shows up at parties as a woman laughing and playing.) They’re the creative types, the artists, the enthusiasts who live with passion and purpose, often for things the rest of us wouldn’t think twice about. And thank goodness for them, because without them, life would be a flat, beige existence.
Think about it: what makes a neighborhood, a community, or a dinner party memorable? It’s not the perfectly curated normalcy—it’s the painter who decorates their lawn with abstract sculptures, the friend who brings homemade kombucha and a story about their latest obscure hobby, or the musician who can turn a mundane Tuesday into an impromptu concert. Weirdos, in all their delightful unpredictability, remind us that life is more than spreadsheets, deadlines, and grocery lists.
Take artists, for example. They see the world differently—not just as it is, but as it could be. A blank wall becomes a canvas, a melody becomes a revolution, and a heap of discarded materials becomes a masterpiece. They challenge us to look closer, to feel deeper, and to see beauty in the unexpected. Whether it’s a graffiti artist transforming a forgotten alleyway or a novelist spinning words into worlds, their creations bring color to our otherwise black-and-white routines.
Then there are the enthusiasts, those gloriously unselfconscious individuals who dive headfirst into their passions with a zeal that’s both inspiring and contagious. Maybe it’s a love for birdwatching, obscure film noir, or knitting oversized sweaters for their cats. Whatever their thing is, they do it with such conviction that it pulls you in. You start asking questions, wanting to understand, and before you know it, you’re Googling “knitting patterns for beginner cat sweaters” at midnight. Enthusiasts make life richer because they remind us that joy can be found anywhere—if only we let ourselves look.
And let’s not forget the quirks of the so-called weirdos themselves. These are the people who dare to be unapologetically themselves in a world that often tries to flatten out individuality. They wear mismatched socks to formal events, mix metaphors like cocktails, or have encyclopedic knowledge of topics that seem completely irrelevant—until you realize they’ve just made the most interesting point of the evening. Their willingness to stand out makes them magnets for connection. They remind us to loosen up, to embrace the things that make us different, and to have the audacity to let the world see us as we are.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of chasing normalcy, of blending in and keeping our quirks under wraps. But here’s the thing: normal doesn’t inspire. Normal doesn’t paint the Mona Lisa, invent jazz, or figure out that you can roast marshmallows over a candle during a power outage. The weirdos, the creatives, the enthusiasts—they’re the ones who dare to take the road less traveled, and they’re the ones who make the rest of us curious enough to follow.
In a world that often feels overly polished and algorithm-driven, these people are our saving grace. They show us what it means to be alive in the truest sense of the word. They remind us to laugh harder, to dream bigger, and to care a little less about what others think. They’re the ones who turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, and for that, they deserve all the gratitude in the world.
So, here’s to the weirdos, the dreamers, the doers, and the ones who see the world as a playground instead of a checklist. May we celebrate them, learn from them, and perhaps even join them in their beautiful madness. After all, the weirdos don’t just make life more interesting—they make it worth living.
Bob Fagan has just published “The Little Book of Questions That Matter — A Lifetime Companion For Transforming Your Life.” It is available on Amazon. Through 2025, all proceeds will be donated to charity.
