"Why can't you be who we want you to be?"

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Have you ever seen the movie Martian Child? Its this movie starring John Cusack as a widower, David, and this adorable child Bobby Coleman as an orphan, Dennis who thinks he's from Mars. At the beginning of the movie in a perfect round of serendipity, David's world leads him to this little boy. A science fiction writer (think equivalent of Frank Herbert of Dune/George Lucas via Star Wars 4-6, not 1-3 because those were just CGI gone wild for the most part) who adopts a boy from Mars.

Dennis wears a weight belt because he thinks gravity will make him float away, and looks like a tiny little albino because of the amount of sunscreen he wears to protect himself from the sun. He also hangs upside down a lot in order to get the blood flow back to his head because he thinks gravity interferes. Seriously, for a six year old he thinks a lot about the universe. Throughout the movie, its an uphill battle to c

onvince the adoption folks that they should stay together, because they think that all of Dennis' quirks show considerable issues that perhaps David just can't handle.

There's a beautiful moment...when David is supposed to be presenting his new sci fi manuscript instead bringing in something about his new son. His publisher is livid. "Why can't you be who we want you to be?"And you see the realization in his eyes. He's been convincing his son to be exactly who everyone else thinks he should be, instead of reveling in the amazing young being he is. Alien, human this kid is amazing just the way he is. All he wants is to be loved for who he is.

In this world I think we spend a lot of time trying to shape ourselves into the mold others create for us. And some of us try to create the mold for others. Its a hazard of living. We want so hard to fit in and be understood that we can wind up losing ourselves to the battle. What if we spent more time celebrating the unique differences?