Mid-Life Philosophy--24

On Being an Individual

At my bridal shower, we played a game. My cousin had asked Chris all sorts of questions. Then she asked me the same questions to see if we got the same answers. One of the questions was, "What is Megan's biggest pet peeve?" I didn't know what it was until I heard Chris' answer. He said that I hate stereotypes. By George, I think he's right!

I do not like to be stereotyped. I am a blond, blue-eyed, Mormon from Utah. I am a married stay-at-home mom, BYU graduate, and returned missionary. When people find those things out about me, they think they know all there is to know. (Not all people. If I thought that, I would be stereotyping them.)

I have a story. It may be similar to other people's, but it is MINE! No one else has had my same experiences. I enjoy getting to know people and I love it when people get to know me a little before assuming anything about me.

I've heard a few LDS women talk about how they don't fit in with all the other LDS women, but they have found a way to use their talents in the church. I am grateful and happy that they've found their place--because we all have a place in the Kingdom of God. We each have unique talents to offer. But what bothers me is that they assume all the other women have the same talents, the same strengths, and they alone are unique. It doesn't work like that.

Even if my sister and I both scrapbook, we do it differently. Our records of our families reflect our own interests and talents. (At this point, I only scrapbook in my head. Someday I'll take care of all that. To everything there is a season.) I don't care how many stay-at-home moms there are, we each have a unique parenting style that reflects our own tastes and priorities. We have different things we emphasize and appreciate.

When we use stereotypes to describe large groups of people, we start to feel like we don't fit in, like we don't have a place. Today, I read a talk by President Uchtdorf and I really appreciated this section: "If you could see into our hearts, you would probably find that you fit in better than you suppose. You might be surprised to find that we have yearnings and struggles and hopes similar to yours."

I feel very strongly that people are people. As children of God, we have so much in common. We can reach across socio-economic barriers and age differences and cultural boundaries and find people who are simply that: people. Individuals with unique stories and familiar hearts. People worth getting to know as individuals.

I really appreciate it when people I meet take the time to get to know me. I hope I extend the same courtesy to others.