Likely Normal

It’s a universal fact that the acceptability of our actions depends less on the actions themselves and more on the specific, often unspoken, rules of the scenario we find ourselves in. Take, for instance, the simple act of shouting. Bellowing yourself hoarse at a sports stadium while aggressively questioning a referee’s lineage marks you as a passionate fan, worthy of high-fives and camaraderie. That very same performance, however, if delivered toward a disappointing novel in the quiet section of a library, transforms you into a public menace who will be subdued by a librarian’s lethal “shush.”

This contextual whiplash applies everywhere. Licking a birthday cake to playfully claim it is a quirky family tradition, but performing the same territorial ritual on the hardwood floors during a house tour will get you swiftly escorted off the premises. Similarly, lying down for a nap in your bed at 2 AM is the peak of responsible adulthood, while assuming the same horizontal position in your office cubicle at 2 PM prompts a deeply awkward intervention from HR. Life is an intricate social choreography.  We must navigate a world where the line between “perfectly normal” and “utterly unhinged” is drawn entirely by the room we’re in and the people who are watching. So, if you want to spit out your candles, go for it, but make sure you have the right people celebrating with you when you do.