The advantages of being different
Hi friend!
Lately, I've been thinking about being different. In American culture, differences are not only tolerated but celebrated -- at least to a certain extent. Uniqueness is always being explored and highlighted. I come from a more homogeneous culture, though, and in it, being unique is like standing out like a sore thumb. I've seen that changing in the last few years, which brings me a lot of hope, but the fact remains that I'm from two different worlds.
It seems I'm always trying to reconcile being from two different places at once. There are times I fit into my different communities like a glove, but there are times I am extremely outside of them because of such dualities.
Lately, though, I've come to recognize these differences as a strength. Sometimes being on the outside is the best thing that could happen. Thinking differently comes with having different experiences, and I don't think we'd survive as a society if it wasn't for allowing for this kind of diversity. In fact, I'd argue that this is why there are so many different kinds of stories. We all experience life in our own ways, so there is always room for a story to be told differently. (Now that I'm writing this, I wonder if this is why I've always been fascinated by comparative lit and re-tellings in particular.)
But besides that, divergent thinking (which is common in the land of neurodivergence), comes with both exploration and experimentation. It allows for things to grow in directions other than the status quo or the usual. It allow for change. There is a more organic sort of growth, too, both personal and societal, that has nothing to do with this manic, almost perfectionist tendency to be better in the toxic space of #HustleCulture.
As I mentioned in my last newsletter, my process lately has shifted dramatically, and while some parts of it are making every single one of my brain cells work hard, other parts of it have been extremely fulfilling. During a rhizomatic workshop I attended a few weeks ago, hosted by the talented Almah LaVon Rice, my eyes were really opened to how my brain likes to do its thinking — that is to say: in bursts, in images, in key words, and in symbols. Since that workshop, I've been using the Mind Map whenever I'm stuck with... well, anything. (Random fun fact: I actually wrote my sister's maiden of honor speech by subconsciously using this technique.)
And that brings me to my last point: that going through these exercises and testing my strengths has allowed me to see that no matter what I do, my creative process will always be unique to me. “No one person creates the same way,” is a thing I’ve always heard but never really fully embodied until recently. I've always made space for other people's processes, no matter how wild or different, but I don't think I've ever really made space for my own. At least, not consciously.
So the challenge for this next month is that I'm going to attempt to honor all of the ways I do things differently, especially when it comes to my writing process. My invitation to you is to look at a process you have in place (it could be anything at all!) and underline its uniqueness. What do you do differently than others? Where do you excel in that difference? Where is it challenging?
Here's to a month of celebrating our differences and doing what brings us joy.
Much love,
Yasi
P.S. Speaking of different! As you might have noticed, I am transitioning away from MailChimp to Substack, which is a bit more friendly towards the kind of content I'd like to publish. I'm really not interested in selling my readers anything, and I also would like a space where I can actually interact more with people who take the time to read my words. If this change is unwanted in anyway, please feel free to unsubscribe!