daring to be different
may 14 | weekly warm-up
Consider the mainstream expectations that have affected your creative choices so far, and what you’ve learned from defying or not defying those expectations.
+ Make a list of any mainstream expectations that have made you feel ‘othered’ or like you don’t belong in certain environments.
+ Next to each one, make a note of how these things have affected you.
+ Journal about what you’ve learned from defying, or not defying these expectations.
+ How might your current creative goals defy those expectations? In what small ways can you prepare yourself for possible outcomes?
“What a difference it can make in our lives if we begin to challenge what is considered normal in our culture; if we escape from judging ourselves and others in relation to normality; if we start to honor the diversity of our lives and the lives of others; and if we start to appreciate what special knowledge we may have gained in our lives from experiences of difference or even hardship.” — David Denborough, Retelling the Story of Our Lives
Starting this week, we are transitioning into a new theme— Identity and Society. We will write about the roles that culture and society play in shaping our individual and group identities and discover what it takes to dare non-conformity as we put our differences on display in our writing.
Many of us are used to hiding our differences, not highlighting them. When writers tell me that one of their concerns about writing is that it’s all been said before, I tell them that’s why it’s so important for us to be as honest and specific about who we are in our writing.
To practice self-discovery and vulnerability, I recommend writing about what sets you apart, what makes you different. Some ideas for this may have come up for you while doing the shadow work exercises. We often have subconscious beliefs about our differences that we need to be aware of and release.
This week’s exercise is to bring your differences into focus. As you nurture your creative lifestyle and projects, be mindful of how you measure yourself against cultural and societal standards and think about how you need to support yourself when your choices set you apart. Tune into your differences and be aware of the special knowledge you have gained from the way your life has defied 'normality'. In what ways can you find empowerment in being a misfit and not fitting in?