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.

Alan Bromwell

One of the main things a comedian wants is to be understood. But I’m at the point where I’ve conceded that I’m only beginning to understand myself, and I can’t expect anyone else to figure it out for me. Read more>>

Ashley Powell

My entire life I have faced discrimination because of my race. I have always been made to feel different. I have been called the wrong race and have people make assumptions about me and my family because of it. Read more>>

Jose Yantin Jr

I’ve always felt I was misunderstood and I never felt like I fit in. I was always quiet as a kid I still am now but it’s usually when I don’t know you. when I know you and know I can trust you and I feel safe to be me I can get real comfy. Read more>>

Aaron Tago

Being mischaracterized leads to a lot of overthinking, it makes you question yourself, your abilities, and who you are as a person, or who you should be to the world. Read more>>

Hsiao-Chu (Julia) Hsia

It is challenging to explain my art practice as a performance artist since my performance is nontraditional and experimental. I see my performances as platforms for people to talk about social issues. Read more>>

Dr. Sarah Elizabeth Moreman

Being misunderstood is one of the natural aspects of my life due to my having been born profoundly bilateral sensorineural deaf. The perpetual need to be understood beyond the cage of my hearing impairment remains strong even after over four decades as I never cease in my creative pursuits in fostering genuine connections while communicating Read more>>

Christina Steele

Being bi-racial and growing up in a place where most people saw only half of my ethnicity was a big lesson in being mischaracterized and misunderstood. It forced me to know who I was at a very young age and present myself fully uncompromised. Read more>>

Deirdre V. Lyons

We create live theatre in virtual reality. It is often challenging to communicate what we do to people who are not familiar XR (which includes Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality) or the new term, Spatial Computing. Read more>>

SLiNK Love

I think being externally misunderstood/mischaracterized comes from misunderstanding yourself first. I used to get lumped into identity politics art and like re-flattened into the black woman experience ALLLLL the time, and that just is not the totality of me and has never been the sole, or even primary focus of my work. Read more>>

Caylin Mansfield

I have definitely felt misunderstood throughout my life and I think from the get-go being born premature, diagnosed with cerebral palsy, adhd, anxiety, difficulty in school and exposed to a different kind of outlook on life than other kids and peers around me, It took a lot for me to be confident into speak what was really on my mind. Read more>>

DaKloud

I believe that your taste music in itself is like different food pallets. Not everything you make will be a hit to everyone. A song or poem you make may be boring or tasteless to someone but it could be exactly what someone else needed to hear to get through whatever life has been throwing at them. Read more>>

Jared Flannagan

I have a reputation as the “whitest” black man most people know. Some view it as compliment others use it as an insult. I struggle with having to defend my “blackness” and what it means to be black. Read more>>

Krista Kelly

Alongside my arts and crafting jobs, I work a weekday job at a school. It wasn’t until I became immersed in a world surrounded by young minds and hearts that I realized how important it is to be yourself, truly. Read more>>

John Copenhave

A writer or artist of any sort, if they’re being true to themselves, create from a very personal place. It’s not always evident on the surface of the final product, but it needs to be there for that story or painting or piece of music to work. Read more>>

MARVALE

I’ve done music pretty much all my life, it’s come easy to me writing my rap based on what I saw and what I lived. However, I have done a 180 in my music to a faith based rap and positivity. Many can’t understand it and it may be misunderstood but I have a purpose to positively impact our youth and give them an alternative to what they are listening to now. Read more>>

Lara Kamh

I think it is a human being’s main drive; wanting to be understood. And I also thing that being or feeling understood is paradoxically impossible. Art flourishes from a state in which it is either a question of expressing your most authentic self or death. Read more>>