Gooey

“There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.”
~ Helen Hayes, paraphrasing Buckminster R. Fuller

The best cookie is under-baked. I want a warm, gooey center that is dough-adjacent. I have never gotten sick from raw dough, and frankly, it would be worth it.

When I was young, my mom taught me how to make cookie bars. Like everything any authority figure ever told me, I barely paid attention.

Whenever we had the ingredients, I made a pan of cookie bars. My family enjoyed them, too. Although I’m okay with not sharing.

Like Phoebe from Friends, our recipe came straight off the Nestle Tollhouse bag. The recipe is basic ingredients—flour, butter, sugar, eggs, salt, vanilla, and baking soda. Then I added the entire bag of chocolate chips—just like we did the first time. I didn’t know until years later that my mom was buying a double-sized bag so I could make two batches. No matter how big the bag was, I used the whole one every time. I received zero complaints.

There is nothing about the ingredients of a delicious cookie that suggests it’s going to be a cookie. The proper ingredients, mixing, and heat transform the components into a treat. There was nothing about my ADHD, distrust of authority figures, and general dislike of being told what to do that would suggest I could have a successful career—or even hold down a job.

I’ve harnessed my ADHD to identify patterns and make creative leaps quickly. It also helps me hyper-focus when necessary. I’ve learned to hide most of the visual cues of disliking authority, which lets me bypass BS to confirm truths. As far as not wanting to be told what to do? Corporations call that ownership.

Bucky Fuller’s quote continued, “Nor does one picture of a butterfly tell the viewer that the butterfly can fly.” One slice of me is not all of me. My starting point does not define my potential. My limitations can literally be my strengths.

Do I underestimate my potential based on the individual ingredients? Have I misjudged others based on a snapshot? Am I open to the possibility of a surprising transformation?

Be curious, be kind, be whole, do good things.