Often, those who tread off the beaten path are misunderstood or mischaracterized and so we asked folks from the community to reflect and tell us about the times they’ve been misunderstood or mischaracterized.

Trevis T

Being misunderstood is a part of being a creative. Everyone may not see your vision the same way that you see it. In my time as a music producer and rapper I have experienced this in many ways. Some people have tried to use one of my songs to define my entire catalog of music.I have been misquoted, labeled and misinterpreted. In the beginning of my career this bothered me and I wanted to be understood by everyone. Read more>>

Rene Camarillo

When being prompted about my own personal reflections of being misunderstood and or mischaracterized, I have had many experiences that shaped who I am. Throughout my life, I often felt extremely misunderstood by society and peers. Being a brown queer creative, I have always had to shape-shift to survive, or to simply be able to shake the next suited hand. In a way, I had to shrink. Read more>>

Sam Castillo

Being Openly Queer and performing in spaces that tend to cater to more heteronormative narratives within the Minneapolis music scene sometimes my art is misinterpreted and is put in a box when I’m a lot more than a queer entertainer.. also making the transition to pop music I’ve found my true sound and having such little representation in the city. It can be a struggle to remain booked Read more>>

Shruti Tewari

As an actor on the golden side of the mysterious line dividing lead and character roles, I am amazed at the number of scripts relying on villainizing the parental generations. The older demographic amongst Asians, and South Asians in particular, is remarkably reduced to stock characterizations that exist in scripts solely for the purpose of impeding next generation dreams. Sadly, these stereotypical portrayals have led to increased alienation of the parental generation amongst immigrant communities. Read more>>

Kaitlyn Davis-Linton

In my opinion, the most prevalent misconception is that I will behave differently as I grow in my career. Those around me encourage me not to lose sight of them as I progress in my career. They need to know that my achievements will never affect how I treat them. It is unclear how successful people come to believe that treating others harshly is acceptable due to their social status and social class. Those who helped me when I had nothing will always be modest and grateful to me. Read more>>

Neo

I feel like along my time in Los Angeles, i’ve been put in a box and generalized in terms of who “I am” or what “I do”. Usually im just assumed as a Stylist or a Model since that’s what the most “accessible” thing for people to connect with my art. I’d say when it comes to my music and my design, (especially my music) I’ve tended to experiment more and truly created a unique aura around the sounds I produce with electronic , ambient, and alternative. Read more>>

Hollow

When I started making music an preforming over 10 years ago, there was a heavy stigma put on me. My very first performance ever a fight broke out during my set. No fault of my own, a girl got too drunk the soundguy said he was trying to “cool her off” by rubbing icecube on her kinda inappropriately and her boyfriend started fighting him… Couldn’t be farther than my fault, right? Well not according to Erasmo Castro and his Brownsville Cheezmeh FB Page, and definitely not according to his readers or friends. Read more>>

Colette Miller

I was creative and trying to survive as an artist where ever I lived. As a child I skipped recess playing outside to paint and draw in the Art room. As I became an adult and the passion didn’t die I knew I’d sacrifice for my work because I would feel unfulfilled if I didn’t. I pursued bands in Richmond Va, where I was in the formative years of GWAR a growing experience where we lived in an old ware house that had corners shaped like giant milk bottles. Read more>>

Jeremy Jus’Black Davis

I have found that being a Public figure comes with the daunting pressure of your voice being Amplified and consequently left up to interpretation, unfortunately once you have been identified as “A Thing” it becomes really hard to climb out of that classification. I think that the same can be true for many things in Life. To combat this problem I try to show Duality and Nuance and hopefully such variety will make it hard to pigeon hold me to “One thing”. Read more>>