“When we hide, we may avoid being criticized, but we also cheat ourselves from exploring our gifts, and we cheat the world of benefiting from them.” -David Taylor-Klaus
How do you act in public? At work? At home? This issue is about the fact that we all wear social masks. No, not the facemasks we’ve started wearing to slow down the novel coronavirus; the faces and behaviors we’ve been putting on our entire lives. These masks can certainly be helpful — keeping us from being overly emotional in the workplace, for example, for which we’d receive criticism. As the above quote says, they can also cause harm, like if you suppress your identity and unique gifts to try to please or fit in with others. Some of the most important people in history didn’t hide their gifts. Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson, and Mary Jackson didn’t hide their mathematical intelligence. Thomas Edison and Van Gogh didn’t hide their creativity. Taking off the harmful masks and letting your gifts shine correlates with higher self-esteem, better ability to cope with stresses, and more satisfying and intimate relationships with peers. This Fall, we at The Understanding encourage everyone to take off their social masks and express their authentic selves! If you’re interested in reading that sort of narrative, you’ve picked the right magazine! This issue’s articles are all about it, from the story of loving parents who, with the aid of a financial planning firm, set up their autistic child to live his best life, to a discussion on whether calling for censorship is the most productive reaction to offensive or appropriative Halloween costumes. You can also check out other articles at www.theunderstandingmagazine.com and chat with us on Twitter @theunderstandi5 or on Facebook and Instagram @theunderstandingmagazine. Mitch Blatt Editor-In-Chief