Badge of Crazy or Badge of Honor?

While enjoying a perfectly uneventful Saturday with my iTunes on shuffle, one of my favorites, Jazmine Sullivan's 'In Love with Another Man' began to play. Intently listening to each lyric, my mind was flooded with thoughts and questions never before invoked by the song. Romantic comedies, romance novels, self help books and even this blog often encourage us to leap into the unknown and experience something new. What do you do when you're totally content being in the muddy pond in which you currently rest? Should you quit the job that makes you totally miserable even though the paycheck it provides allows you to do all the other things that make you ecstatic? And let's not forget about the man or woman in your life that does the very least and probably doesn't appreciate the things that make you totally fantastic, but you couldn't imagine life without him/her; are you really going to leave? If I lead you to believe I had the answer to any of these questions, I'm sorry to disappoint.

Throughout the song Jazmine makes comparisons between the man she is singing to and the man she is choosing instead of him. Judging by the lyrics the loser in the fight for her heart is apparently a really great guy with a lot going for him. Ironically, the victor is indeed a loser; he's mean, doesn't really have things together in the life department, and the listener can assume he doesn't treat the woman who loves him very well. Upon first listen anyone in their right mind would say Sullivan is undoubtedly trippin', HARD. However, if one truly listens, she acknowledges that her decision may be confusing to the "loser and others," she can not help it; she is crazy for, crazy about and crazy in love with a man who the world, and even she at times sees as a bum.



My girl Jaz is NOT alone in this predicament. We have all been in situations with stuff, jobs, and people that led us to wear the 'crazy' badge. In fact I find myself periodically removing a 'crazy' badge or two. We all take jobs, date people and stay in situations that warrant a crazy badge and it is totally okay. While wearing the crazy badge is okay, looking in the mirror everyday and pretending like it's not there is out of the question. Jazmine apologizes for not loving the "right" man, but she never apologies for loving the man she chose. She recognizes that it doesn't seem like the best decision and she knows she wears a crazy badge for it, but she is fine with that. She is NOT leaving.

One of my good friends is in love with a man that at one point had nothing more than a friend's couch to sleep on, ambition and work ethic. She stood by him, supported him, loved him and shared with him whatever she had to give/share. She wore the crazy badge with pride and now he has a thriving career and is living his dreams WITH her by his side. I interned for free for nine months after college for a woman I am convinced is Miranda Preistley's long lost sister. She was short with words, demanding and nothing was EVER good enough, I wore the crazy badge in front of my family and ALL of my friends. I now have a job that I am more than happy to do (most days) with the opportunity for travel, a pretty good salary and amazing perks.

You may be in a situation that has you walking around wearing a crazy badge, know that people will continuously tell you, "hey do you know you're wearing a badge that says 'crazy'?" Don't be mad at them, they think they're helping you. Just smile and tell them, "thanks, I know." Wear your crazy badge with pride until that pond is no longer muddy, that job no longer sucks or that significant other is no longer a bum or at least until you're ready to take it off and hop to a cleaner pond. ;-)

(Disclaimer: In no way is this a rationale to stay in an emotionally or physically abusive relationship or situation. That's not wearing crazy badge, that's life threatening.)