James Rallison - The Odd 1s Out: The First Sequel

B ookstores are fun to visit. Theyre sort of like more exclusive libraries, where all of the books are pristine and the librarian lets you talk above a whisper. After my first book had been out for a couple of months, I decided to take a trip to Barnes & Noble and see how my book was doing.

I knowit makes no sense to check on my book like its a child I dropped off in day care. Im not even sure what I was expecting to see.

And really, it would have been sort of weird if Id gone to the shelf and seen someone flipping through my book, because I dont want my fans to think I lurk in bookstores, pressuring them into purchasing my merch.

One of the salesclerks saw me looking around and asked if she could help me.

You would think I would have some preplanned phrase ready that would let me discreetly slink off, like, Nope. Im just casing the joint. But at that moment I couldnt think of anything to say except the truth. Uh, yeah, I was wondering if you carried the book How to Be Cool and Other Things I Definitely Learned from Growing Up, now available at your local bookstore.

Until that moment, Id never realized how asking for that title makes a person sound really insecure and like theyre looking for manuals on popularity. So let me officially apologize to all of you who had to ask salesclerks to help you find my first book.

Hopefully, the clerk looked at you and said, You dont need that sort of instruction, honey. I can tell just by looking at you that coolness runs in your veins.

And you said, Yeah, youre completely right, and then you left the store without purchasing my book.

Hopefully thats how it went down for you, but I was stuck in the store, a twenty-two-year-old college dropout asking for help on my coolness, and I couldnt even explain that Id written the book because that would make me look even stranger.

The lady said, Ill check the computer. (Which, by the way, clearly meant she had no idea where my book was. She was just letting it wander around the store without any supervision.)

She went to her desk, typed for a few seconds, and then said, I have a book byshe paused like you do when you come to a puzzling nameThe Odd Is Out.

And I said, Yep, thats it. Because we noncool people dont correct salesclerks.

She showed me where the book was and I stared at it until she left. Thats the end of the story.

But the point is, TheOdd1sOut is a name thats part of who I am now. Really, its crazy to think that a title for a webcomic I made as a teenager with characters that I dont draw anymore will probably follow me for the rest of my life. Although I guess there are worse things to be permanently stuck with when youre sixteen.

When I chose the name for my channel, I thought the phrase the odd ones out was so common that everyone would still understand TheOdd1sOut even with the number. But people get it wrong all the time.

Okay, I know the number 1 sort of looks like an I and thats confusing, but I feel like people should really be able to differentiate between the two symbols.

This is a number one: 1

Notice its slanting top, sort of like an unfinished arrow or a drunk T.

This is the letter I.

Its a straight line. Its not wearing anything on top of its head. When its a baby, its got a balloon hovering above it.

Besides, who would ever call themselves The Odd Is Out? What does that even mean? It sounds like someone made a list of numbers and then made every number that wasnt divisible by two go outside.

Ive also heard my channel pronounced the odd one sout. Which, in case youre wondering, no, sout is not a word. Ive seen the odd ones scout. Nope. Even though I was in Boy Scouts when I was younger, that doesnt mean Id base my whole channel on it.

You know why I put a 1 in my name? Its because the number would literally be the odd one out in a sea of letters. It was supposed to be a poetic and artistic critique on our society, and Im just kidding. I chose that name because the name the odd ones out was already taken, so I improvised. But we can just tell everyone that the name is clever and layered with meaning. That should make me look good in front of salesclerks. And if youre ever naming anything like comic strips or channels or children, maybe run that name by a few people first.

I may have just saved your child some very bad days at school. Youre welcome.

But whatever your name is (or whatever name your parents stuck you with), wear it with pride. You are the only one of you. Which makes you odd, in a good way!