I'm Not an Inspiration...

I'm not an inspiration...but you can be inspired by me

Okay, let me explain where I'm coming from. I love hearing about humans doing amazing things. Discovering new things, solving problems, looking at the world in a new way. Me being a science nerd, I gravitate towards scientific discoveries. In articles and news about scientific articles, I notice something. When a cool thing is achieved by a woman or person of a minority race, this one word comes up over and over.

Inspiration.

What makes someone an "inspiration"? Is it really just down to something you're born with?

It is important to acknowledge that people are treated differently because of things they can't control like sex, race, social class, or appearance. Yeah, it is waaaaay harder for someone who is wondering where there next meal will come from to do rocket science. And I'm not going to act like it doesn't sting when people say "oh, your degree is in biology? Do you want to be a teacher?" when I know that guys don't have to answer that all the time. People assume I'm a nurse when they  is see my scrubs, never a doctor. But is that what makes an inspiration? Overcoming some unfairness of society?

I remember that one of my big inspirations as a kid was the show Mythbusters. If was investigative and scientific, but also a ton of fun. The hosts, Adam Savage and Jaime Hyneman are passionate about what they do and manage to be educational and entertaining. But no one would say that they are "an inspiration to little girls" because they're guys. Guys can't inspire girls...can they?

There's nothing wrong with wanting to see all different sorts of people achieving great things, I love to see that. Please, achieve what the world says you shouldn't, and be the unexpected. But the emphasis should be on the achievement and what the person actually had to overcome, not just the buzzword. To draw inspiration shouldn't have a list of qualifiers. It limits potential instead of expanding it.

I guess this comes to mind because there are times when I feel like a traitor for not really connecting with someone who is an "inspiration" to my social group. Which is kind of ironic because something designed to be inclusive led to an "us vs. them" mentality. And being someone who does flashy things like cosplay, I want to inspire people. Not just my social group, but everyone. I don't want to just be pigeonholed into one kind of person I can impact. I feel like a lot of people labeled "inspirations" end up with that limitation, so that word kind of leaves a bad taste for me.

The takeaway of these musings is that it's okay to be inspired by anyone. If you are looking for career aspirations, there is nothing wrong with looking up to a stereotypical self-made millionaire, even if you have nothing in common. If you're looking for fashion and style inspiration, it's okay to look outside of your body type (personally, I would encourage it), no matter if that's thinner, fatter, more muscular, different skin tone.

All of these "inspirations" did something that society said they "shouldn't", you can be inspired by someone who you "shouldn't." You are not a traitor to your in-group by feeling a connection to an outsider.

I may not be an inspiration, but you can be inspired by me.