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.

Tara Rule

As a disabled entertainer and creative, I spent a long time hiding my disability as I feared it would impact my ability to find work, especially as an actress and filmmaker. I was surprised at how well received I was in the film community despite my condition. As I became more comfortable talking about my condition publicly, I decided to integrate disability rights and awareness into my work as content creator. Read more>>

Hannah Burns

Something I’ve been working on a lot recently is releasing myself from trying to control everyone’s perspective of me. I used to get extremely frustrated when someone assumed they knew my truth without allowing me first the chance to tell them myself. I felt like I needed to defend myself against any misinterpretation out of fear of someone making undue judgement of my character. Read more>>

Joe Caldwell

I do feel as an artist that I’m often misunderstood but the product will always speak for itself and sometimes it’s hard for people to understand my journey because it’s so colorful that it’s hard to keep up I just urge on my listeners all my followers to just enjoy the ride Read more>>

Cody Bondra

I think every form of art has the opportunity to be misunderstood. But the beauty of it is that it can be. Every song out there or every film or painting is open for interpretation to a certain extent. As the listener we’re making it our own every-time we put it on. I write about experiences and dreams. Fantasy and fears. I hope my audience finds some of their own in my work. Read more>>

Johnathan Pushkar.

I’ve experienced that a lot of people assume being a creator is an ideal life, given that I’m able to travel freely, work from anywhere, and do exciting things most days of the year. Many people fail to see the thousands of hours I put into building my creative businesses to get them to the point where they sustain the life I have now. I spent countless college nights alone working on my laptop to build the businesses I have today. Read more>>

Stina Dias

Working in this industry has always been misunderstood. With it being male dominated & it being surrounded by nightlife most people can think certain things in a negative way. “Shes Always Outside” is what I get a lot! It’s crazy because what people see on social media they compare it to simply having fun. When in actuality every time I step into an environment where a mic is present I’m either working or setting up an opportunity to grow and become better at my craft. Read more>>

Vinnie Vineyard

I feel like I’m Young Frankenstein’s monster sometimes. I’ve always wanted to inspire love and happiness, and my art has always failed at that. So instead, I seem to instill disgust and fear, I guess. I was an abrasive comedian, a bad guy wrestler, and even a heel in the touring band I played bass for for years. everything I’ve done seems to be misunderstood at some degree. Some people adore what I do, some people dislike it, almost everyone misunderstands the intent. Read more>>

De-Ambra Burroughs.

I definitely think being a Christian can lead to a lot of stereotypes and judgments. When I first started analyzing the bible, it was around the same time I started to get into listening to podcasts. During this time, I was also taking a class called “Jesus” at my university. I was skeptical. It was my first time deep diving into my Christian walk. Read more>>