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.

Zach Day

I feel like people don’t necessarily expect the type of music that I write or the type of music that I sing to come from me. When you look at me you may expect me to sound different than how I actually sound. I’ve been told that when people hear my original music they weren’t expecting the type of lyrics I write or the type of voice that I have. I think that the more people get to know me in the more people hear my music the more they’re going to be intrigued by my story… i’m from a coal mining town in Appalachia. I’ve seen a lot of things. I’m proud of where I’m from in many ways, and i’ve been scared of where I come from… and my story is going to impact people. I have a lot to talk about. Read more>>

Jamil Hairston

Genre is absolutely subjective. It’s a great way to categorize the many sounds and moods we enjoy. I love pop music, I love hiphop music, I love house music. I create all three. And as someone who’s spent time creating music in a variety of different genres, it’s hard to remember to keep it simple. There’s often overlap, there’s often influences from many places. Read more>>

Kelly Desireé.

When it comes to my current modeling journey there have been consistent mischaracterizations and misunderstandings with the work I create. Although I am abundantly grateful and privileged to be in this industry, navigating how I fit in this industry with my curvy body type has been a learning curve as well as an eye opening experience. Here are some common misconceptions that I have personally experienced… Read more>>

Tash Jordan.

I felt misunderstood by my peers for as long as I can remember. The doctors put me in special education classes because they thought I was mute. Come to find out, I just didn’t like talking to people and was smart. I was treated different by kids in my school because I was taking speech classes along with special Ed. I never fit in with anybody because of my interests and the way I spoke. I listened to rap and R&B but I also loved Linkin Park, *NSYNC and Pearl Jam. I used to be called an Oreo because my interests were different from other black kids. Read more>>

Rob Lee

My life has been about being misunderstood or being an outsider. My podcast, The Truth in This Art, focuses on Baltimore as a place thats often mischaracterized as being bad, dangerous and so on. All negative things. I’m very much a Baltimorean so to a degree I feel mischaracterzied as a representative of this bad and dangerous reputation. My work aims to show the alternatives of that – the bright spots presented authentically. Read more>>

Curtis Greene .

All my life I’ve been more misunderstood than understood. Some say it’s because I’m the youngest of my siblings. But I say that it’s because having my biological father that lived with me who was a great provider and coming from a family of means during my childhood made my development very difficult. I was faced with stigmas inside my family on my mother’s side because my cousin’s fathers were absentee. And my other cousins the most familiar ones lived in poverty because their father who was once well-to-do got turned out on drugs before I was even born. Read more>>

Joel NR Powell

As a creative, I’ve constantly been misunderstood as being anti-job. Due to my passion towards entrepreneurship, I remember when I was in high school and I was telling one of my teachers about my dreams and ambitions and being immediately told that pursuing a job would be a better bet because it’s very hard to make it in the entertainment business. From a young age, I had to develop tough skin because people will always judge what they don’t understand and what they are not willing to learn about. Everyone has the right to pursue what makes them happy in order to not just make a living but to make a difference in this world. Read more>>

Scott Romosa

For the most part, I don’t lean towards getting validation from anyone on the outside. I can’t forget the reason I started making music in the first place. It was never for other people to understand it, because not everything is meant to be understood, but for me to express the traumas, pain, experiences & moods I go through. If certain listeners or watchers can relate to or share similar feelings as me through my music…well that pretty much explains itself. Only time outside validation is relevant is when it comes down to streams & shit or how many people pop out to your shows. Read more>>

Sarah Spillers

Yes, I have experienced a time where I felt as if my artwork had been both misunderstood and mischaracterized. In the summer of 2020 I was awarded the Summer Research Grant from Austin Peay State University. I proposed to create a body of work on large canvases depicting foods that were drawn from observation. Over the summer I studied Wayne Thiebaud’s use of color, texture, and space. Studying this painter was actually recommended to me by one of my painting professors, after I completed a large pastel cake with vibrant berries for one of my classes. Read more>>

Syd Strickland.

I definitely feel like Me, My work, and My Vision have been misunderstood and especially mischaracterized. As a hip hop lover, I grew up listening to artists like Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Lupe Fiasco, Pharrell, Nas, and Eminem. This era of Rap is very different, it’s not so much about story telling, it’s more singy, and my style is more Bars and flow. I don’t follow the trends of the industry and the everyday listener doesn’t appreciate the fine art of penmanship and individuality. Read more>>

Andrei

Absolutely! This happens all too often. Instead of people accepting me and what I do, I often get back handed compliments on why I don’t do things a different way or style. While touring, I have had various people approach me after shows that questioned me on why I don’t sing K Pop instead of country music. Back in 2013, I was opening for a singer/songwriter for a show at The Middle East in Boston, MA. After the show, an individual walked up to congratulate me on my performance. Read more>>

Maria Majors

STL Rhythm Collaborative’s professional dance ensemble, moSTLy TAP, is just as it sounds…a tap dance company that presents mostly tap dancing, often with our ensemble of musicians, moSTLy JAZZ. It’s our goal to boost enthusiasm for tap dance and jazz music in St. Louis through the presentation of our live music and tap dance collaborations. Read more>>

Unicorn Hole.

Nintendocore as a genre is misunderstood. Metal tends to be a serious genre with dark lyrics about fairly heavy subject matter. Nintendo games, on the other hand, tend to be bright and family-friendly. For this reason, the genre is often not taken seriously by metal fans, and often too abrasive for Nintendo fans. People are quick to judge a book by its cover. There are plenty of nintendocore bands with a mature sound, complex compositions, and serious tones- bands that would likely appeal to standard metal fans. Read more>>

Michael Placencia

Yes being an actor for 18 years was fun but as of recently with world events things have changed. I have turned my life back to God for these end times and a lot of people don’t understand it. We all need to be saved Read more>>