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.

Robert Parker

I often deal with being misunderstood as to the delivery of things I stand for and the message gets mischaracterized. I believe most times the we hold great energy and great abilities that go unnoticed simply because we are misunderstood. Read more>>

Kenneth Cartel

A lot of time when your a Jim Carey in a Truman Show world , you’ll be criticized and viewed as weird; especially when you’re pushing the boundaries, landscape, and the average perspective. For me , I had to take a lot of punches to the third eye (metaphorically) and regain my mental health through meditation, writing my feelings out, making a song, or even designing that emotions out. Read more>>

Helin Cetin

I have a sensitive side that I’m learning to embrace more. While most people who only know me from social media or in passing might not see this side of me, I think it’s important to find a balance between both. When I made the decision to move away and pursue my dreams, many people projected their own fears and doubts onto me, but I didn’t let that stop me. After a year of living here, they finally realized that what I had set out to do was actually possible. Read more>>

Hemali Sona

In this day and age, there is an imperative focus on inclusiveness. This wasnt always the case in regards to the modeling industry when I first began and even, sometimes, to this day. Being misunderstood & mischaracterized resonates with me because there were plenty of times where I didnt fit the stereotype for modeling in the industry. Read more>>

Michael Blanchard

I had struggled with addiction for over 30 years before finally deciding to seek help and enter recovery. While I was proud of my progress and committed to staying sober, I soon realized that not everyone saw it that way. In the begining, despite hard work, many people still saw me as someone with poor character or weak willpower, rather than as someone who was battling a disease. Read more>>

Anais Owens

Being misunderstood is nothing new to me. Early on, as a shy, yet ambitious kid from Brooklyn, I realized that I had many talents. Writing, drawing, music making. Reading was my pastime and favorite thing to do when I was not playing dolls or video games. But school was a different monster. Read more>>