I spent my childhood believing different was dreadful. Being different meant being teased. It meant being ostracized. It meant feeling alone and like I did not fit in anywhere. I grew up being president, vice president, and all the members of my exclusive club of one. I longed just to be like everyone else. It took me a long time to finally realize the thing that made me different, could lead to my greatest joy – helping others.

I have always said that I am happiest when I am helping, but I never felt “happiest.” There was something missing. I never really felt fulfilled. Sure, I feel pleasure when I am helping a friend or family member. I am there when people need me – but it isn’t enough. I never felt like I was really making a difference. I want to change the world. Not in the way it sounds. I don’t need to solve the world’s problems, (although that would be nice)  but I want to make a significant contribution.

It took me almost 50 years to realize the very thing that makes me different, the thing I thought was dreadful about myself,  is also my ticket to finding my bliss, to finding real joy. The satisfaction of making a real impact on a life. I am on a mission to share my positive message of difference and acceptance. To write a book about my life experiences. To help children and families successfully navigate that which I have personally survived… that is my joy. That is my bliss. That is my purpose. For me, the thing that makes me different is also the thing that makes my life truly divine. Sharing this message will make me “happiest.”

The path to this way of thinking was a journey I didn’t even know I was on – until I got here. It is a journey, not a single day or event, but a culmination of experiences that delivered me to this understanding that I am exactly who I am meant to be.

Thinking about why something happens to you gets you nowhere. Deciding what to do with that experience, is powerful. Life is messy. Having a facial difference makes it messier.  Each of us has a unique set of experiences, making us different in our own way. Being different is divine!