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I always felt alienated from people for not quite fitting in and all I ever wanted was to be normal. My therapist told me that thereâs no such thing and that I shouldnât compare myself to other people in that way because no two people have the same experiences, which felt like condescending gaslighting to me at the time but Iâve come to believe she was right.
Instead of chasing unattainable normalcy, Iâve started to see myself as extraordinaryâout of the ordinary. Itâs empowering to embrace my idiosyncratic nature and recognize that my peculiarities are what make me unique. So if youâve ever felt out of place, remember: being extraordinary means youâre living a life that only you can live đĽš
Oct 21, 2024
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iâve distanced my self so much from whatâs considered normal or traditional, honestly just to be a contrarian and live my niche kitschy life, but now iâm so used to being outside the norm, that now when i want to experience new/ different things, i do the most normal shit ever.
idk if itâs human nature, or just the beauty of life in general, but this experience has truly shown me that i can really be anything i want.
Feb 26, 2025
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THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS NORMAL. Stop trying to be something that you are not, stop trying to be copy-paste <insert substyle that you do not even really like you just don't know who you are if you are not following a trend> for the longest time, I had no identity, I didn't know who I was outside of micro-trends and what was popping off on the internet. I wanted so badly to be normal that everything I tried was slowly but surely killing my spirit. People are clay. We are covered in little fingerprints, little specks of dust, and pieces of lint. No one person is without these things. Normalcy implies that there is a standard, uniform way to mold clay. You can never be normal, and that is so beautiful that's what makes life so worth it. I tried so long to figure out the "normal" way to live life that I missed out on so many things my teenage years are over, and they flew past me. I spent so long trying to be a normal teenager that I forgot that the most important part of this age is trying to figure out who you are by yourself through your actions, through your memories, and through the people around you, not by following what is normal. I will never be normal, and I am so grateful, I will always be ME. My spirit will be unique. My mind will remain creative. I will never be normal, and I don't want to be.
Feb 22, 2025
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been thinking a lot about self-awareness lately and what makes me âme.â Iâm always trying to figure out how to transform my inner critic to real personal growth without shame.
being honest and not editing myself to any given room was one of the first things I began to tackle in therapy. existing among other humans is an ongoing give and take, and Being Who You Are without apology while treating others with respect is really all you need to do in this life. learning how to be kind and true, and finding the good amongst so much bad and then sharing it with others makes the world go âround
Apr 16, 2024
Top Recs from @taterhole
My dad teases me about how when I was a little kid, my favorite thing to do when I was on the landline phone with somebodyâbe it a relative or one of my best friendsâwas to breathlessly describe the things that were in my bedroom so that they could have a mental picture of everything I loved and chose to surround myself with, and where I sat at that moment in time. Perfectly Imperfect reminds me of that so thanks for always listening and for sharing with me too đ
Feb 23, 2025
May 28, 2025
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Iâve been thinking about how much of social media is centered around curating our self-image. When selfies first became popular, they were dismissed as vain and vapidâa critique often rooted in misogynyâbut now, the way we craft our online selves feels more like creating monuments.
We try to signal our individuality, hoping to be seen and understood, but ironically, I think this widens the gap between how others perceive us and who we really are. Instead of fostering connection, it can invite projection and misinterpretationâpreconceived notions, prefab labels, and stereotypes. Worse, individuality has become branded and commodified, reducing our identities to products for others to consume.
On most platforms, validation often comes from how well you can curate and present your imageâselfies, aesthetic branding, and lifestyle content tend to dominate. High engagement is tied to visibility, not necessarily depth or substance. But I think spaces like PI.FYI show that thereâs another way: where connection is built on shared ideas, tastes, and interests rather than surface-level content. Itâs refreshing to be part of a community that values thoughts over optics.
By sharing so few images of myself, Iâve found that it gives others room to focus on my ideas and voice. When I do share an image, it feels intentionalâsomething that contributes to the story I want to tell rather than defining it. Sharing less allows me to express who I am beyond appearance.
For women, especially, sharing less can be a radical act in a world where the default is to objectify ourselves. It resists the pressure to center appearance, focusing instead on what truly matters: our thoughts, voices, and authenticity. Iâve posted a handful of pictures of myself in 2,500 posts because I care more about showing who I am than how I look.
In trying to be seen, are we making it harder for others to truly know us? Itâs a question worth considering.
Dec 27, 2024