About me

Being Me Is Exhausting

The Challenged writing prompt of June 22nd, 2026

Me, before the weight of the world came down on me — photo from family archive.

For June 22nd, Sondra Singer — Still Vital said it’s International Being You Day. What is it like to be you?

For me, it’s always International Being Me Day. What’s it like being me is a very broad question — do you have a few hours, days even? Let me try to keep it short…

• I elaborate, always and on anything. It’s exhausting for me and whoever has to listen or read. Keeping it short — as I’m trying here — requires effort.
• I’m a perfectionist, which is a burden because I also have OCD — imperfections drive me crazy and even haunt me sometimes.
• I have ADHD, which comes with its own set of rules. Distraction and getting bored easily are the key features — focus has always been an issue, except when it comes to things that really interest me.
• I am hyperactive, and by that I mean that I simply cannot sit still. There’s always a part of my body that has to move — it often drives my wife crazy. I can hold still if I have to, but at some point there’s a release of all that built-up energy.
• I am partially colorblind, which comes with quite a few consequences, especially because I’m a visual artist.
• Speaking of which: I am a visual artist, and as such I make a living selling a luxury product people don’t really need, nor are actually looking for. It’s a tough profession.
• I am smart — not bragging, scientifically proven: I have a high IQ. This does not mean I am always right or that I know everything; a common misconception — erudition and intelligence are two very different things. It does mean that I can easily identify and solve logical problems. It also means that I have a hard time dealing with stupidity, which covers at least half the population.
• I have a bad memory — always had — and unless there’s some logic in what I need to remember, I forget. Oddly enough, I often remember very trivial things, but that’s simply because they relate to my interests.
• It will come as no surprise that my head is in constant overdrive and some situations may even give me a mental overload; in a way, my brain shuts down to protect me from a meltdown. This often happens in new, big, crowded places that give me too many impulses. Traveling around means we often visit new stores, and bigger ones like supermarkets can trigger such an overload. My wife now knows how to recognize this and has finally learned not to make it worse by pushing me to “snap out of it” — I need to process things at my own pace, which sometimes means I have to go outside and calm down.

So, what is it like to be me? It’s exhausting, but interesting.

[embed]June is Bustin’ Out all Over Writing prompts coming out the yin-yangmedium.com