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Alexa Ward's avatar

I really resonate with the annoying gift of questioning! I'm a questioner myself, and a people pleaser, which was difficult to navigate growing up.

My parents are black and white thinkers and valued blind obedience from their children. I was always smart and more of a grey area thinker who needed clarity on why they believed what they believed about what's right and what's wrong.

I noticed from a young age how my inquisitive nature and open-mindedness triggered them, frustrated them and created friction between us. My questions and curiosity were not appreciated. I was often misunderstood by them as argumentative. I wanted to be good for them, but I also needed to fully understand how to be good and why to be good.

Now as an adult, I've found so much appreciation for and purpose from my desire to understand all angles of things. Embracing ambiguity makes my life so much fuller and makes the people around me feel so much safer to explore their thoughts and ideas. My field -graphic design- is often called visual communication or communication design, so in this space the more I can communicate, understand and ask questions, the better I can convey ideas visually that people connect and respond to. Open-mindedness and grey-area thinking thrive here.

I think your message here was beautifully articulated. Thank you for sharing- keep asking questions!

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Laura Avery's avatar

it truly hit home when you say: “Burnout taught me the hardest lesson: Success built on proving your worth will never bring peace” I try to remind myself of that everyday 🤍

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