THE Unimpressive Standout

Getting academic – preparing my daughters’ homeschooling assignment in a Georgian hostel.

So, I had to research the word impressive. No, seriously. I mean, I have a general definition of the word but I wanted to know 100% what it means.

Here goes – “Having the power to excite attention, awe, or admiration” (Merriam-Webster said it, so it’s true).

Sitting in this hostel a few days ago, I had the pleasure of hearing the following: not impressive, just standout. Now, considering my eternal sense of paranoia and anxiety, the male who uttered those words could have been referencing a number of things. I, of course, took it personal as I was the only other person in the room at the time and they were looking in my direction. Tammi, the Hulk, wanted to tell these ignorant bastards where they could shove their blatantly inflammatory comment but then Logical Tammi stepped in. What if I took their words to heart and absorbed the true essence of An Unimpressive Standout.

Standout – to be prominent or conspicuous; to steer away from shore (Y’all know who said it)

An Unimpressive Standout – a prominent loner which does not evoke awe or admiration. This individuals claim to fame is that they steer away from shore taking the roads less travelled (hey, it’s my blog and I’ll translate how I wanna).

OMG, that’s SO me…I can dig it. Can you? This is how I translate this…

I am travelling with my 10-year-old daughter throughout Europe and Asia and have been for nearly 4 years. My daughter is fluently bi-lingual and becoming multi-lingual as you read this, as am I. She is able to interact with her peers and well as those in other age and social brackets.

I survived an abusive childhood, was a 17-year-old runaway, graduated high-school on time, with honours, was homeless, became a single mother, became university-educated, worked at a prestigous university, left all that to give my daughter a global education, have taught in 2 countries so far, ran an English summer camp, and am now in Georgia (the country, not the state) on my way to an even broader cultural intelligence. If that’s not impressive then that must make my life commonplace.

And, if my life is commonplace, if any individual can come from something to nothing to become an amazing rarity, if THAT is not impressive, if THAT is commonplace, normal even, then I welcome this reality with open arms. You know why?

If any and everyone can live this life, then the future can be nothing but great. If you can have individuals all across the globe not only surviving but succeeding, if the reason we standout is because we just put a novel spin on an ancient phenomenon, then I’ll take the title of an unimpressive standout and I’ll run with it.

I’ll be THE Unimpressive Standout – for now.
(I look forward to meeting other Unimpressive Standouts along my journey).

Ciao 4 Now, Y’All 🙂