Positive Deviance

Positive deviance is doing something completely unexpected or out of the norm, that benefits someone else. Because it's not considered a "normal" act of kindness, it often takes courage to do a positive deviant act. Julio Diaz, for example, put himself in potential danger just so he could help a mugger. He not only gave the mugger his wallet, but offered his coat and took the mugger to dinner. In the end, his wallet was returned because the effect of his deviant act was so powerful, that the mugger was moved to be kind back.  What I decided to do for my positive deviant act was to write a kind note on the mirror of the girls' bathroom. I know that as a freshman, I cared a lot about what I looked like, straightening my hair almost every day and always wearing makeup, and I was one of those girls that was checking the mirror between classes. Either the end of Freshmen year or the beginning of Sophomore year, however, I noticed this note in the bathroom one day. It had some kind of sweet reminder that the reader is beautiful, and even though I knew that it wasn't directed specifically at me, I began to feel less inclined to try so hard. I also began to listen more to the opinions of the people who cared about me, and saw me for who I truly am. Because I've learned to look at myself through the eyes of the people that care about me, rather than look at myself way more critically than anyone else would, I've gained a lot more confidence and self appreciation. I really wanted others to feel the same way, so I took post-it notes and wrote "YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL, you don't need makeup to prove it" and "believe it" and such. I was actually really embarrassed about putting up the note in case anyone saw that it was me, but luckily, I knew the only girl that was in the bathroom. I felt really good when I walked out, hoping that even if a lot of girls blow it off and don't think twice about the note, there's bound to be at least one person who had the same reaction I had when I saw a similar note my freshman or sophomore year. I really hope that's the case and that whoever she may be gains more confidence and in turn wants to help others feel better about themselves too. The cool thing about positive deviance is that once you start you don't want to stop, especially when you've been a victim of positive deviance. The fact that it is so normal for girls to wear a ton of makeup and conceal how they actually look really bothers me because I don't think girls should have to dislike how they really look. Our culture teaches us to strive for an impossible ideal, but I think that what we really need to strive for is the ability to love ourselves, and hopefully my act of positive deviance can help someone or multiple people to ignore what our culture teaches us about self image.