My daughters and I love to talk about being ourselves and not changing who we are to fit in. Besides, we know that every community contains folks who love our particular awkwardness. We just have to find them.
The Old Norse and Middle English etymology of this word awkward reveal a wonderful meaning. Awkward means “turned the wrong way.”
When we follow God, obey our parents, refuse to gossip, reject materialism, maintain purity, tell the truth, choose empathy, defend the bullied, smother cynicism, preserve innocence, and celebrate learning, we often feel turned the wrong way against a massive cultural current.
Stay wrong. Stay turned. We find, always, that the awkward among us were right all along.