Originally, the premise of Fun for Anyone! was a character based off an experience that Cam had. It wasn’t until October of 2020 that I realized that it was also about me. That people in my childhood had tried to eradicate everything about my personality. I shouldn’t act childish or silly. I shouldn’t have fantastical ideas or dream big. I was too short, too skinny, too quiet, too much of everything that was wrong. Later on, in my twenties, I got a similar message. I was told that I needed to be more mature, grown-up and PROFESSIONAL. I tried getting an outfit similar to a co-worker who seemed to have it together, a plain black dress and boots. My boss told me: “Erin, I don’t know how you did it. You have the same outfit, yet Laura looks professional and you…Well, you look like you’re going out to a club.”

I was always over the top without even trying. I called off work for dying my hair wrong. It was supposed to be a pinky-blond, the girl on the box looked pretty cool. But combined with my hair color; it ended up looking like the same shade as my skin tone, which was straight up creepy. I called off when I ended up with a severe head-ache from sitting in the back of debate class, not realizing I had strained my eyes and needed glasses. I got a make-over at the make-up counter and the next morning woke to my eyes being swollen almost shut from an allergic reaction. By that point, they were worn out from my antics. I was told to take Benadryl and come in. Of course, the meds did nothing and I had to help customers all day scheduling their various therapies. I needed a job to survive. What hadn’t occurred to me, was that I didn’t need to change, it just wasn’t the right job. (And that wasn’t going to happen for many years to come, without a large amount of hard work and determination.)

Which is a problem. How many of us are in the wrong job, wrong relationship, wrong life, just doing what we think we should do, instead of what our gut/intuition tells us? It wasn’t until December 2020, that I realized that the Fun for Anyone! was about ALL OF US. I was racking my brain to figure out what made this book stand apart from other books. It dawned on me that it wasn’t just about a boy liking nail polish or glitter. It’s about how harmful it is for EVERY SINGLE PERSON to be told to change aspects about themselves. (And it’s also about giving a nice middle finger to the haters.) Would there be less suicide, less addictions, less homelessness, if people felt confident enough to be themselves, without judgement?

There is a toxicity that permeates our beings as humans, the lie of being ‘perfect’, that makes us think that we have the right to scrutinize other people. As a matter of fact though, we don’t. Recently, I wrote up an exercise for middle schoolers for when I do school visits. It’s simple. Any time you feel the inclination to judge the way a person looks or what they like, stop yourself. Find something else instead, that you can genuinely compliment them on and do so. You will immediately notice a change in their face and their demeanor. Recognize that you can make a positive impact in people’s lives with a small act of kindness. Like YOURSELF. Begin to adjust your mindset, it will change your world! And just let people be who they are.