Like Myself

I’ve spent more of my life than I care to quantify attempting to fit in: trying to lower my voice, covering-up my naiveté and hiding my dorky enthusiasm. Nine times out of ten, I failed. Even worse was when I actually managed to blend. An insidious “this isn’t me” feeling inevitably eroded my well being.

Only recently did I decide to let go and give in to my nature. I’ve taken the new approach of exploiting what makes me differnet and celebrating the weird ways I interpret the world around me. (Part of that is this blog, and so I thank you for participating.) As I become less ashamed of my unbridled optimism and my intense bursts of energy, I become more fulfilled. I’m also beginning to sense the potential for greatness, for eventually being able to offer something valuable to the world, even if I don’t know quite what that is yet. Giving in isn’t giving up. In fact, it’s liberating. It’s also hard work, but for the first time, I really believe I’m fighting the good fight. The people in my life, my friends, family and clients, will ultimately get a better version of me.

This shift has taken surrounding myself with people who are on similar journeys and opening myself to inspiration in all forms. One of my greatest sources of inspiration thus far came when I attended TEDActive last February. I met so many people working to live their dreams and watched several Talks that filled me to the brim with hope and ideas. One Talk I keep coming back to is by an incredible woman named Temple Grandin. Temple is a leading thinker on and researcher of the autistic mind, in addition to being autistic herself. She uses her Talk to explain the spectrum of autism and the different types of autistic minds, advocating that we celebrate differences because they’re what actually advance humanity. After all, if everyone saw things the same way, we wouldn’t have scientific or artistic breakthroughs.

There’s an HBO bio-pic that does a great job of showing just how brave and special Temple really is. In that movie there’s a scene that recounts her beginning to dress in western wear, which is now part of her signature style, a style, which I must add, I truly adore. She wasn’t worried about fitting in, nor was she trying to make a statement. She was simply trying to be comfortable and express who she was on the inside. It’s obvious in this Talk that Temple is completely at home in her own skin, especially at the end when she answers Chris Anderson’s question as to what she’s most passionate about without a second’s hesitation. I want to be like Temple. Or, more specifically, I want to be like myself.

So if you haven’t already, please watch this TEDTalk by Temple Grandin.

Thanks to the incomparable Liz Danzico for her encouragement and for suggesting the title of this post. Rainbow collage by me, cut from the pages of thrift store text books.