Be the only.

Last semester I was caught up in a conversation with a couple of friends that ricocheted between ResLife work, the reality of the presence of God in a particular instance, and middle school fart humor all within a span of about five minutes. Seriously - just like that. It was the best. After wiping the tears of laughter from our eyes my one friend said to the other who had driven the conversation: 

“There’s no one like you.”

Some moments just have a higher sense of holiness to them. That instance has been lifted from time in my mind and held in my heart - springing up to the surface whenever something as jarring as a strangely appropriate fart joke reminds me that there’s no such thing as a generic human. If we’re being real, we’re being weird, and that’s the point. The statement holds true no matter who you apply it to - friends, professors, and neighbors for sure - but I think most importantly for us to know and sometimes hardest for us to believe is that it applies to you.

There’s no one like you. 

Let that be true. Even if it makes you weird. This can be pretty hard in college and beyond - when the desire to be accepted, get that job, make those friends, and feel like you belong can drive you to sacrifice parts of who you are so you might “fit in.” 

Don’t do it. Because even if you look like you fit on the outside, you’ll feel like you don’t on the inside. Besides that - the rest of us don’t need the same everybody else! We need you.  

One of my heroes, Kevin Kelly, says it like this: “Don’t aim to be the best. Be the only.” 

Trying to be the best at something is just another sneaky way the enemy gets you to be the same. It means that out of a field of people who act and look the same and do pretty much the same thing, you do that thing just a little better. That’s actually pretty cool if it’s a part of who you are, but if it’s all of who you’ve become at the expense of all you’ve been made to be - you’ve missed the chance to be and do what no one else can be and do simply because you are the only you. 

A body needs each of its unique parts. A house needs each of its unique vessels. A ship needs each of its unique crew members. A world needs each of its unique people. 

“Don’t aim to be the best, be the only.”

Follow your “random” curiosities. Keep doing stuff that’s purely for fun. Set aside the “how can I make money from this” question. Do you really want to look “professional?” Keep painting your D&D figurines. Forget about SEO. Show up to open mic night. Buy the plane ticket. Ask the girl out. Call your parents. Paint a picture of your cat. 

Ask God to show you who He has made you to be and what your role is in His Kingdom. As he answers you, trust that all the other stuff will fall into place when you take him at his word, even if some of the elements of the answer don’t make sense or even seem weird. The One who made and named and placed each star made you fearfully and wonderfully, named you according to his purpose, and placed you exactly where you need to be. 

There’s no one like you, and that’s the best.