The HOOKED Project

We all feel like an outsider at some point. Perhaps you feel like one right now. Perhaps you feel like you belong in some places, but not others. Perhaps you are part of a general tribe, but not accepted within that tribe.

Feeling like an outsider is a near universal feeling. If you haven’t felt like an outsider… well, good for you. You’re probably a very healthy normal person. Congratulations. Tell us your secret.

On the other hand, I’m sure we’ve been on the other side of it. Consciously or not, we all make others feel like outsiders. It may not be your intention. Your reasons may seem completely concrete. That doesn’t mean they’re right.

We’ve all been a 25 and a 3 or 4. When I wrote Hooked, I wanted to tell a story about feeling like an outsider. Feeling like an outcast within my own group. It’s not from any one specific adult memory, more from my childhood, but the applications still felt universal as a ‘grown up.’ I feel left out, at times. I’m sure I put people out at times.

Hooked attempts to point out the good that can come from letting someone in a little more. It’s an extreme situation. Most people don’t hide in lace. (Though I have on occasion crossed a street… or put my head down). You might have done that too. That doesn’t mean it’s right.

There are so many times when a person’s talents go unrecognized, because they aren’t understood within a group. A fish looks like a failure on dry land.

So the next time you feel like an outsider, remember that you aren’t alone. Remember that it bears no meaning on your talent. Continue searching for your ocean.

And the next time you don’t want to let someone in, or you judge someone, remember that underneath there is a person. Who is searching for a human connection, just like you. I’ll try to remember that too.

Hooked is a story about crochet hooks. And you. And me.