What is an “unusual life”? The answer to that questions is one that is easy to conceive of, but difficult to explain. If taken as a whole, human life has enough variation that one human standing on one part of the planet has an unusual life compared to another human being living on another part of the planet. But if each of those two humans were to turn to a neighbor in the same community, there is a very high likelihood that he is going to see someone who is, for all practical purposes, identical to himself in more ways than one. In that sense, then, I would say that neither of these two humans is living an unusual life because in terms of their culture, community, and the larger society they find themselves a part of they are not likely to be taken as unusual in any way, even if there is some variation observed between the two.
An unusual life, rather is one that stands in rather stark contrast to the expectations and conventions of the community in which one finds him- or herself. But even this definition is weak because there are a number of groups within a culture or society that take a counter-cultural stance toward the prevailing culture at large. A good example of this is the vast number of Uptowners living in all of the Uptown areas across the country. These people, usually young but not always, fancy themselves as being at odds with the conventions and expectations of society, but in a very real sense really have only adopted a predetermined role within the society. As if this wasn’t enough of a clue that their lives really aren’t all that unusual, Uptowners, by all appearances, shop at a clothing place that sells an Uptowner uniform, read all the same propaganda, and speak the Uptowner dialect of English. Whether you are on Lake and Lyndale in Minneapolis or Haight and Ashbury in San Francisco and all of the Uptowns in between, it is all pretty much the same. Indeed, nothing unusual is going on there.
As far as I’m concerned, bikers, gays, Evangelical Christians, Moonies, Zen Buddhists, Yogis, and Hip Hop artists all fit into the same category of people who have purchased and who consume the personae of “nonconformity” without, per se living an unusual life. Aside from leading rather conventional lives, these people have taken great measures to validate their lifestyles within the broader society so that though they may still be hated and feared in certain sectors, they are accepted as permanent fixtures for better or worse.

The point is it doesn’t really matter so much whether members of a society view you as unusual as much as you yourself are aware that something about who you are does not fit the categories and expectations of those in your community or even your intimates. It may even be that these feelings have long since stop registering in your consciousness, having been stifled and quelled for so long that they only remain as perhaps vague memories or regrets from an earlier stage in life. Despite the opportunities you had as a child or young adult, you chose rather to pursue more conventional and acceptable modes of existence, and while you may have long ago quenched the fires that burned in remembrance of your dreams, you find your current life empty and devoid of joy.

It is in that vein that no one can really tell you what an unusual life is. An unusual life is by definition a life that cannot be categorized into any known shtick. If you, for example, enjoy having sex with people who share the same sex organs that you possess, does that mean your are “gay.” Do you have to take on that particular role and persona simply because it is one of the few available that has reached some level of acceptance and respectability in this society? Do you feel pressured within your Gay social groups to accept values and interpretations of your life and experiences, to categorize your thoughts a certain way, or to act in a way or believe things that don’t really fit who you are. If so, as a “Gay” person you do not live an unusual life, but a life that you have taken on, like some many others, simply because some of that shtick worked for you but you failed to look further and find your true values and what you want out of life.