Difference between "different" and "unique"

[sebastian-bound.livejournal.com]

I'm in my head trying to come up with a satisfactory differentiation between "different" and "unique." Some of the trans people I know talk about having a "unique" circumstance. I equate uniqueness as being one of a kind, or even, peculiar, in a way that doesn't blend in with others.

Personally, I don't really want to be unique, but I do feel different from other people, and have since puberty. I don't attribute this to gender; I think it was much more about social isolation in a white, middle class suburb.

There is also the concept of normal, which causes some amount of discord with my birlfriend. She doesn't want to think of us as being in a "straight" relationship, because she equates straight with heteronormative, boring, and owning houses in the suburbs. Whereas I'm not comfortable with being in a "queer" relationship either, because I identify as straight.

So, what is different from other people, and what makes trans people unique?