History Main / IJustWanttoBeNormal

->"Professor Willowbrook thinks that I'm [[TheChosenOne Naman]]. Jor-El wants me to be some sort of [[PhysicalGod Kryptonian warrior]]. I just want to be [[HollywoodNerd Clark Kent]]."
-->--'''[[{{Franchise/Superman}} Clark Kent]]''', ''{{Series/Smallville}}'', "Talisman"

* ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' has examples of both "I just want to be normal" AND "I just want to be special". Specifically, Sam Witwicky uses the exact phrase "I just want to be normal" 16 or 17 minutes into ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'', and spends the first half-hour of ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'' looking for work but declining menial jobs because he just wants to be special.

* Sally Owens (Sandra Bullock) in ''PracticalMagic''.
* MattDamon's character in ''{{Hereafter}}'' is a psychic whose ability to communicate with people's dead relatives is [[AMindIsATerribleThingToRead more of a curse than a gift]]. He refuses to exploit it for money and prefers a life of a blue-collar factory worker.
* Extreme example: in ''Film/TheMatrix'', Cypher wants to return to life in the Matrix so much that he makes a deal with the machines to help them capture Morpheus, on the condition that they plug him back in and erase his memories of life outside. Admittedly, he does request that he be turned into someone important, like a famous actor.

* Bethany in ''Film/{{Dogma}}''. Jesus is said to have also been like this for some years--the ones not recounted in the Bible.

* Megan, the protagonist of ButImACheerleader. She wants to be straight, dammit!
* The reason that CanonForeigner Skinner (the invisible man) joins ''TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' is because the PowersThatBe promised him a cure for his invisibility.
* ''Film/LastActionHero'': Jack Slater deconstructs his action hero status.
-->'''Jack''': I just want to be a good cop! Instead I keep getting caught up in these crazy adventures!
* The protagonist Dave from the 2010 film ''Film/TheSorcerersApprentice'' said so at least once in the film when he was forced to take up the role of being a Prime Merlinian. Balthazar later revealed that his lover Veronica wished for the same thing as well.
* The young Clark's reaction after finding out he's a super-powered alien in ''Film/ManOfSteel''.
-->'''Clark:''' Can't I just keep pretending I'm your son?

* In ''ThePlatoonOfPowerSquadron'', Virginia is so opposed to the idea of having powers, she tries to get a friend to come up with a cure not only for herself, but for her to slip into the drinks of her other super-powered friends. Jonas isn't very eager to use his powers either, saying that Donald's whole “Fate gave us these powers for a reason so we have to experiment with them and save everyone and be heroes!!!” mentality rubbed off on him to the point where he lost control over them enough to use them in his sleep.

* The main character of ''NewAmsterdam'' is immortal until he meets his true love. You'd think he'd want to avoid doing this, but he can't wait to meet her/get rid of the immortality [[WhoWantsToLiveForever so he can stop outliving his girlfriends, wives, and children]].

** Ryuuken Ishida tells Uryuu that he wants to be normal but is incapable of getting rid of his powers, so all he can do is refuse to use them. When he was a teenager, he was extremely invested in protecting the future of the Quincies, until events shook his faith in his ability to do that. However, what tipped him over the edge from badly shaken to hating Quincies is so far still unknown. [[spoiler: It appears to be linked to the Quincy King's purge of all impure Quincies which killed his wife but mysteriously could not kill his son, leaving Uryuu the sole surviving impure Quincy alive.]]

* In ''EverydayHeroes'', Summer Mighty has inherited her father's powers, which caused her former friends to avoid her.

** Ryuuken Ishida tells Uryuu that his desire was to be a normal human but unfortunately for him he's actually incapable of getting rid of his powers. As a result, all he can do is ignore his powers and refuse to use them. He's also lying about at least a part of this because when he was a teenager, he was extremely invested in protecting the future of the Quincies until something happened to shake his faith in his ability to do that. What tipped him over the edge from badly shaken to hating Quincies is so far still unknown. [[spoiler: But it appears to be linked in some way to the Quincy King's purge of all impure Quincies that killed his wife but mysteriously left his son the only surviving impure Quincy in the entire world.]]

** Ryuuken Ishida tells Uryuu that his desire was to be a normal human but unfortunately for him he's actually incapable of getting rid of his powers. As a result, all he can do is ignore his powers and refuse to use them. He's also lying about at least a part of this because when he was a teenager, he was extremely invested in protecting the future of the Quincies until something happened to shake his faith in his ability to do that. What tipped him over the edge from badly shaken to hating Quincies is so far still unknown. [[spoiler: But it appears to be linked in some way to the death of his wife at the hands of the Quincy King.]]

*** [[spoiler:It's especially notable in that thanks to Aizen's machinations, Ichigo's life was never going to be normal to begin with. His parents were a shinigami captain and a hollow-tainted quincy, and Aizen specifically manipulated the events of his life so he would gain his powers. Even if he hadn't, there's no reason to believe that the Quincy King, Yhwach, would have left him alone either, due to his unique heritage. One way or another, Ichigo's fate was intertwined with the fate of the afterlife.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex'', though the Rex enjoys fighting, and helping people, he's not a fan of the life he has to lead when he's not on missions, which seems to consist of training and waiting around. He sneaks out often. [[spoiler: Leading the higher ups to hire a kid to be his friend.]]

** The Titans comic also played it as straight as can be with Beast Boy's best friend Cyborg. Half-human half-machine Vic Stone has struggled with IJustWantToBeNormal for decades.

* In the season two finale of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', Dean ends up admitting this during a fit of delusion. It's become his defining motivation.

* This trope is OlderThanFeudalism, appearing in ''TheBible'' with the first two chapters of the Book of Jonah. After being selected by God to go to the city of Nineveh to prophesy against it "for their great wickedness is come up before me", Jonah did ''not'' want this responsibility, and tried to flee by going to the city of Jaffa and then sailing to Tarshish (which was in the opposite direction from Nineveh). When a storm threatened to sink the ship, the sailors suspect that Jonah is the cause, and he admits it. They toss him overboard, which causes the sea to calm, but Jonah's life is saved when he is swallowed by a "big fish" who carries him to land after three days. During that time, Johan prays to God, and decides to accept the task given to him.

* Belisarius in BelisariusSeries just wants to be a blacksmith. [[AtopAMountainOfCorpses As his job involves killing conspicuous amounts of people]] one can understand.

** Ryuuken Ishida tells Uryuu that his desire was to be a normal human but unfortunately for him he's actually incapable of getting rid of his powers. As a result, all he can do is ignore his powers and refuse to use them.

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', unlike virtually everyone else in a [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters cast of thousands]] who are either trying to become heads of state, living legends, [[AGodAmI outright immortals]], gain the acceptance of their [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer persecutors]], [[RoaringRampageofRevenge avenge horrific wrongs]], or various combinations thereof -- Shikamaru Nara's driving goal in life has ever been to achieve a basic level of competence as a ninja, meet a decent girl, get married, have two kids, and stay alive until retirement. [[BadassBookworm Poor bastard never had a chance.]]
** He's not technically even a Bookworm despite being a genius. He's ''that'' damn lazy. He ''really'' doesn't want to fight, [[BrilliantButLazy but he]] ''[[BrilliantButLazy will]]'' [[BrilliantButLazy kick your ass when pressed]].
** Given his CharacterDevelopment in ''Shippuden'', it would appear that his goals have become somewhat more lofty.

[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/{{Spider-Man}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AS50_996.jpg]]]]

** Rei Ayanami in the AlternateContinuity spinoff ''Angelic Days'' takes up this role. She transfers schools so often that she just can't find any time to adapt to her surroundings and make any stable friendships.
** In the main continuity, Rei struggles with the fact that she cannot die, because [[CloningBlues she will always be replaced by another clone]].

* Chisame Hasegawa in ''MahouSenseiNegima'' was fed-up with her strange classmates even before she got a AdorablyPrecociousChild for a teacher. Naturally, things go downhill from there.

* Sam from ''QuantumLeap'' wanted to return to his life in the future, but when the opportunity arose, he had to leap back in to save Al from being killed, thus returning to the cycle and forgetting much about his past/future.
* Sam from ''{{Reaper}}''. In early episodes, he was even trying to run away from/hide the vessels he was to use to capture the escaped souls. They followed him. However, in later episodes, he's wised up, even telling [[{{Satan}} the Devil]] to "just cut to the chase," so to speak.

* ''TheBigBangTheory'''s Leonard Hofstadter, the genius who wishes he wasn't.
* Ned in ''PushingDaisies'' is actually pretty good about avoiding this, despite being very much BlessedWithSuck. He's had a few moments of it in the show proper, and almost certainly felt this way all the time as a kid. Chuck, on the other hand, while not actually having powers, seems to want a normal life, or at least a ''more'' normal one.
* Played with a lot in ''{{Misfits}}'', where the superpowered characters aren't remotely bothered about saving the world and are just trying to get on with their lives. Although the show is mercifully free of {{Wangst}}, you get the constant impression that the protagonists don't like their powers much. Alisha in particular ''really'' hates her ability (a form of pheromone manipulation which causes anyone who touches her to be overcome with such violent lust that they try to rape her) but then she is well and truly BlessedWithSuck. And Kelly mentions a couple of times that she would block her {{Telepathy}} if she knew how, as she hates hearing what people think about her.

* In ''TrueBlood'', Sookie says she is a freak for being able to read minds, and wishes she was normal like everyone else. [[spoiler: She later finds out that she is a fairy, and does not quite like that, either.]]

* Joy Mercer on ''House of Anubis'' wanted a normal life during season 1, when she was being held up like a prisoner in her own house and forced to never contact her friends because she was the 'Chosen One'. She even said, "I want to be normal."

* Harry Dresden of TheDresdenFiles repeatedly mentions he'd have liked to live a normal life and especially not know about all the supernatural nasties out to get/eat humans. He makes a similar note about The Archive, a little girl who has all of humanity's accumulated knowledge and thus never really had a childhood. She also all has all the memories of [[spoiler:her maternal ancestors, including her mother who committed suicide to avoid bearing the burden of being The Archive while being jealous that her daughter would otherwise avoid it all her life. Thus the girl carries the memories of her mother's hatred towards her.]]

** And how can we forget [[spoiler: Yuki Nagato]], starting in ''Disappearance'', which essentially makes her [[spoiler: TheWoobie.]]

** Let's not forget [[Comicbook/IncredibleHulk Banner]]. At least She-Hulk only suffers this briefly since she has the luxury of turning back to mousy Jennifer at will. Banner never catches a break; even when he had an integrated personality and leadership of an international crime-fighting army, there's always [[InterruptedCooldownHug someone who just has to poke him with a stick]].