I was the queen of arts and crafts as a youngster. Finger painting, macaroni plaques of recognition for mom and dad and even sand art figurines. You name it, I mastered it — or so I’d like to think anyway.

I know that there had to have been days when I showed my mother something hideous and I don’t remember her frown because she always smiled. On the inside she was probably laughing hysterically or crying because it was so horrid.

That’s mom though, right? Down for you no matter what. For many people their mothers are the first to love them for who they genuinely are, despite their early-sprouting flaws. Mom continues to love us, too, as our flaws deepen, stretch and ingrain our personality type throughout years at a time.

If fortunate enough, later in life we may enter relationships that help us see ourselves directly. With time we come to identify our own idiosyncrasies, either by comparing ourselves to other people or really standing back and looking in the mirror at our true selves.

As young children we see difference and find ways to celebrate it. As we climb the ladder of age though, we begin to see difference as a disease and dichotomy hits as a main side effect. I believe that to rest on the consensus that we are all snowflakes on polar ends is to accept the season and live in the reality.

Heartbreak teaches us that not everyone works well together. And if you’ve ever been through a break up you know that some people’s faults just make them impossible partners for you. Most people see flaws as negative nouns, leading therefore primarily to negative verbs and predicates as well.

These quirks though, do possess an element of positivity, as they are essentially what separate each and every one of us from the remainder of humanity. All of our shortcomings, bad habits (vices), inconsistencies and imperfections are what make us individuals. And all of what we are is equivalent to the essence of what it means to be human — to be imperfect.

Since we are all imperfect, then we are all equal. You can never meet the same person twice, even if millions of people you meet have tons in common with one another. It is when you find love and acceptance that you feel most appreciated because someone else rejoices in your difference and is willing to offer you equity no matter the risks they must take as a result.

Just as our moms can often pin point the best and worst in us, they are the first to reassure us that our best effort deserves respect, regardless. We are irreplaceable, irreplicable, inevitably ourselves, for this lifetime and all the possible ones that follow and I don’t know about you, but I’m just fine with that.

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