Sometimes, it pays to be different. Take the example of the winner of this past weekend’s “Valdosta’s Got Talent.” Of the 15 acts, 14 were singers and musicians. One act was an illusionist.

Guess which one won?

That’s right. The young illusionist.

Not only was he very good at what he did, he stood out from a field of singers. Instead of singing, Jonathan Alverez spun an orb along his arms, up and over his arched hands. This technique is called contact juggling. Jonathan performed this feat with grace, precision and skill.

He followed the contact juggling with a glow-in-the-dark routine using lighted batons. These lights seemed to dance in the sky all to Jonathan’s choreography and agility.

The singers were talented but, with that much singing and musicianship in a two-hour period, a performer offering something different was immediately exceptional.

Years ago, in a speech class, the professor told us to choose a topic, find several items on that topic, and present a recitation using various sources on this topic.

About half the class chose the theme of love. They read poems, definitions, insights, play excerpts, etc., on the theme of love.

Nearly the other half of the class selected the theme of death. They read poems, definitions, insights, play excerpts, etc., on the theme of death.

I was the only student who chose neither love nor death.

I chose ducks.

I gave a dramatic reading of a nursery rhyme about ducks, read a few pages from a “Howard the Duck” comic book, and a selection from Henrik Ibsen’s drama “The Wild Duck.”

At the end of the class, the professor said love and death are overdone. Ducks, ducks, now that’s different.

I received the only A in the class.

At Valdosta’s Got Talent, Jonathan Alverez was different and exceptional. The judges took note. Jonathan won first place and the top prize of $600.