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.

Diamond McCoy

Yes, I’ve definitely been misunderstood, especially when giving advice to people I truly care about. Sometimes, my words come from a place of love, wisdom, and experience, but instead of seeing it as guidance, they take it personally. It’s frustrating because my intention is never to hurt—only to help. Read more>>

Classic Williams

Yeah, 100%. I feel like for a long time, people misunderstood what I was doing because I didn’t fit the typical mold of what a rapper “should” look or sound like—especially coming out of the South. I was always into anime, video games, tech, and nerd culture, and early on, that didn’t always translate to people who expected me to come with a more traditional image or sound. Some folks saw it as a gimmick, or thought I was just trying to be different to stand out, when in reality—I am different. That’s just me being fully myself. Read more>>

Jaime Reed

For as long as I can remember, I have been an artist or been labeled as artistic. Along with being blonde, I was often labeled unintelligent, especially when Math and Science became more difficult for me as a visual learner. I learned early on, as early as elementary school, that I was different compared to my peers. Even today, I am immediately categorized when I tell people I’m an artist. Thanks to art history, artists have often been portrayed as mysterious figures who suffered because of their art. I honestly believe some of the most successful and fulfilling artists don’t suffer because of their art. Read more>>

Janice Merendino

I gravitated toward art at a very early age. It wasn’t that I thought I had any natural ability, it was just that I was very shy as a child. So, making things was a perfect way for me to “hide” around people and limit my interactions. As I got older, sharing my passion for the arts must have overpowered my insecurities. I find it funny that I chose a career in teaching where shyness isn’t really an asset. Read more>>

Mads McCall

I can definitely say that I have felt misunderstood in my creative expression. I’ve been misinterpreted in my motivations, my insights, and my words. Art is so deeply intertwined with its artist. Yet its meaning escapes the consciousness which makes it whole once exposed to the world. The closeness to my own work has made me fearful to be misunderstood at times. However, In peoples simple misunderstandings of my perception, no matter the differentiation one seed of creativity can grow beyond myself and that’s the brilliance of art. You must be willing to be misunderstood to be heard. Read more>>

Mike Capozzi

Years ago, a dear friend was a producer on a TV series and she called me. “They aren’t really holding many auditions but do you want to come learn multi-cam?”. Heck yeah I did! I ended up spending 3 amazing seasons on this show working “background”. But on that show, background was more involved than many other jobs like that. We interacted with the leads and guest stars in so many ways through a lot of the episodes. Everyone involved was so kind and took the time to not only ask how my day was – which unfortunately is a rare occurrence on big shows – but also spent extra time if I had questions about their process, the work itself and whatever questions a young actor might’ve had. Read more>>

Exiled Royal

One of the most visceral, yet memorable, fears of mine growing up, related to simply existing within the same vicinity as others. That fear was not exclusive to physical space and spoken words, it migrated to breathing patterns, hand movements, walking, eating, blinking in front of those around me. Despite deeply craving closeness and friendship, the prospect of speaking to anyone outside of my immediate family felt next to impossible and prompted a painful separateness that served as a ripe opportunity for misunderstandings and mischaracterizations. Without fully understanding the extent of my mental health challenges or how to approach the biting, at times explosive, emotions inside of me just yet, that separateness reached a peak during the earlier years of high school. Read more>>

Ben Underwood

My work is driven by misunderstandings. I started down the path of music and art largely because I didn’t feel I understood myself or my place in the world. And those internal self-misunderstandings set me on a trajectory of stumbling toward some sort of sense-making through recording, performing, and making collages. As I’ve begun to share my recorded and visual art with the world in a more intentional way over the last few years, I’ve encountered a lot of external misunderstandings too, and I’ve really embraced them. I mean, if I’m writing and recording songs and making collages largely out of a sense of fundamental confusion about why anything is the way it is—or that it is at all—I shouldn’t be surprised that the by-products of that confusion are themselves misunderstood by others. Read more>>