What is normal?

  I am frequently troubled with the classification of “normal” The dictionary defines this as “conforming to the standard or common type”, in Psychology as “approximately average in any psychological trait, as intelligence, personality, or emotional adjustment”. I believe we are all products of our environment; in that case not one of us could conform to a standard, being that every environment is different. We see the best example of this in the world’s different cultures. What is normal cuisine in some parts of the world is socially unacceptable here, and the consumption of beef here is not acceptable to certain religions elsewhere.

   The other place we see a difference is in the pronunciation of words in our own language. There are a couple of people I work with that come from other states, one from the south and one from Boston. The words they use are the same as the ones I use, but are pronounced very differently, you know exactly what I'm talking about. What is “normal” here is not always “normal” there. Who is to say what is “normal”? it would be better to say what is socially acceptable for your time and place.

  As time goes, there was a time when girls were married off as young as 14, to men twice their age, that is not the accepted practice today, so again, what really is “normal”? The way we behave socially, what we wear publicly, how and what we say, the way things are around the world, to the way things were years ago; who, if anyone has the right to say what is “normal”? I really dislike the classification of “normal”; I for one am not conforming to the accepted average, and refuse to be part of the blind masses. I do and wear “old world” things, if that makes me abnormal, or like your grandfather, so be it.

  What really is “normal”?