FINE AND DANDY
What happens when we remove the crutch of being 'fine'? To humanise self-diagnosis, and the associated feelings of being a 'fraud' until diagnosis. When trying to understand ourselves and balancing the fear of being misunderstood with that of being unseen.
If you struggle to communicate, you know what it is like not to feel unheard, and so you don't want others to feel like this, and so you become a thoughtful listener.
Communication becomes distilling the essence of an idea and transferring it through the shortest possible route of expression, and knowing where the emergency exits are in conversations.
My tongue can feel alien in my mouth and the written shapes are deciphered rather than enjoyed. A computer becomes the supporting figure, as the machine language feels more familiar. But, when I took up photography, it felt for me the first time I was heard when I communicated, which is as emotional as it sounds.
When trying to understand ourselves, how we fit in and questioning why we stand out from our peers. Learning, and sometimes unlearning, coping mechanisms. Growing to become comfortable with being yourself, even if you are perceived as 'different'.