You are not special. This is a thought I’ve struggled with for a while- and while I’ve come to learn it isn’t entirely true, I also think a lot can be gained by having a sense of humility, while knowing your own uniqueness.

What’s the difference between uniqueness and specialness though? To me, everyone is incredibly unique. Everyone has their own story, their own worldview, and their own universe inside their heads. Everyone is a result of the things they’ve been through; the experiences they’ve had, the struggles they’ve faced, the friends they’ve kept around and the things they’ve come to understand about the world.

But being special is different. While these two words are similar on the surface, they have a distinct difference:

Google defines “unique” as: “being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else.”

Whereas “special” is defined as: “better, greater, or otherwise different from what is usual.”

The thing is, when you start thinking you’re special and that you’re better than everyone else is when you have a problem. This sense of superiority and difference from everyone else is what causes division and unhappiness in our society. The definition of specialness is not necessarily bad or untrue on its own, it’s just that it lacks humility in terms of people.

Uniqueness, on the other hand, does not necessarily mean one has to be separated or lonely. Contrary to the definition, we all have many similarities in terms of our humanity but we also all have our unique characteristics and stories.