Why Your weird fascinations are breadcrumbs back to yourself

I have a confession: I'm completely obsessed with mushrooms. Not the kind you put on pizza (though those are fine too), but the wild, wonderful, mysterious fungi that pop up in forests after rain. I don't actually know much about them... but when I see them, I stop to look at them, touch them, take pictures of them. My favourite stall at the Seattle Market was the mushroom vendor with all these crazy types of colourful and alien-looking mushrooms.

And yes, people think it's weird. "Mushrooms, really?" they say, with that polite smile people give when they're trying to understand your particular brand of strange.

But here's what I've learned: those weird fascinations? They're not bugs in your system—they're features.

Your Quirks Are Breadcrumbs

Every time you find yourself going down a rabbit hole about something that makes other people tilt their heads, you're following breadcrumbs back to yourself. That thing that captivates you, that makes you lose track of time, that you could talk about for hours while other people's eyes glaze over? That's not random.

It's a piece of who you are.

Maybe you're fascinated by the way light hits abandoned buildings. Or the history of vintage typewriters. Or the migration patterns of monarch butterflies. Or you have a weird collection of apples... glass apples, cloth apples, metal apples, kitschy apples... anything apple-like, really.

These aren't just random interests—they're glimpses into your authentic self, trying to show you something important.

The Magic Lives in the Margins

We live in a world that celebrates the obvious, the marketable, the immediately understandable. But magic doesn't live there. Magic lives in the margins, in the spaces between what everyone else thinks is important.

When I started really diving into my mushroom fascination, I discovered that fungi are the ultimate connectors. They break down barriers, create networks, and help things grow in the most unlikely places.

Sound familiar? It turns out my weird obsession was actually showing me something about my own purpose—helping people connect with themselves and each other, creating growth in unexpected ways.

Your fascinations aren't accidents. They're invitations.

Permission to Go Deeper

What if you gave yourself permission to be the person who knows everything about Victorian mourning jewelry, or cloud formations, or the history of Trekkies?

You'd probably get the "that's weird" look from most people. But you'd also likely connect with some other "weirdos" who are into exactly the same thing. And what's better than finding people like that?

You could also inspire someone else to show off their "weird." Here's the thing about being authentic: it's magnetic. When you stop hiding the parts of yourself that feel too weird, too much, too different, you give other people permission to do the same. Your mushroom obsession might help someone else feel okay about their fascination with vintage door handles. Your deep dive into medieval architecture might inspire someone to finally pursue their love of astronomical phenomena.

We're all walking around feeling like the only weird one in the room, when actually, we're surrounded by beautiful weirdos who are just waiting for someone to go first.

Make It Your Own

So what captivates you? What makes you lose track of time? What do you find yourself researching at 2 AM because you just can't stop learning about it?

Don't apologize for it. Don't minimize it. Don't pretend it's "just a silly hobby." Or worse, just a weird thing you do while on nature walks.

Follow it. Share it. Let it show you who you are.

Because the world doesn't need another person trying to be normal. The world needs you—with all your strange fascinations, your deep curiosities, your beautiful weirdness intact.

What weird thing are you secretly fascinated by? What would change if you let yourself explore it fully? The world is waiting to see what makes you, you.

Ready to dive deeper into what makes you authentically you? Join our community of beautiful weirdos who are done apologizing for who they are and ready to make it their own.