I yam what I yam.

I like that I'm an artist.

If I'm an artist, then I don't have to be a sociopath, or have a mental disorder, or an unhealthy level of empathy, or be gender confused, or any other combination of labels that imply that I'm broken because I'm different.

I am free to wear what I want and act how I feel (within reason and my capabilities) because I AM AN ARTIST.

I have a social leeway. I am the exception to every social norm because I'm good at drawing pictures. I'm creative and inventive and hinderingly observant, sensitive and emotional. Just like you are. But I can get away with it more often.

I can climb trees when I'm 40 to get a different perspective when I'm "old". I can talk about how I REALLY feel. I can challenge standard ideas in innovative ways. I can accept people and appreciate them for their beautiful flaws - that make us all different  - and get away with it because I am an artist.

I can dye my hair any color, get tattooed, and be true to myself as soon as I figure that out. I can be laughed at, and my opinion over-looked. I can be taken less seriously than a grain of salt. I can be inspirational or crazy depending on how you relate to me. I have the potential to impact the world even after I die.

It's such a strange place to find yourself: trying to tap into relative main-stream thinking, be original and thought-provoking, change the world because you've been effected by the world and circumstance...

I'm an artist. So are you. These aren't artistic traits, they are human traits. It's weird how there are so many of us, and how alone we feel sometimes. I guess it's good, otherwise there would be no reason to try to form relationships. There would otherwise be no reason for discourse. The strange thing is that after all that - after you wade through the bullshit with another person - nothing is better than a hug or a shared inside joke or a knowing look. It's like the high-five of an emotional connection between two people... like for that second your brain connected with something else floating in the universe and it mattered.

So that's kind of the point of art, in my opinion. I like that we are all artists.