Episode 3: Sarah Barnhart Plays by Her Own Rules.

In my ongoing attempt to share with you the amazing and inspiring people who are part of the chiangmaicctv community, today I chatted with Sarah Barnhart of @fruitsaladhamiltonedition and @mydadandmeeverydayornaments about social masking, being neurodivergent, introversion and extroversion and, of course, Sarah’s wonderfully inclusive organization, Fruit Salad Hamilton Edition-- an event-focussed community group that aims to provide a safer environment for folx who don’t have a space where they can just be themselves. I hope you enjoy our frank and honest discussion. I know I did!! Thank you Sarah!!!

Priya:

When I was thinking about today and about chatting with you about how you play by your own rules, I think the thing that struck me as the most amazing is that—correct me if I’m wrong—but I would not characterize you as an aggressive, extroverted person. So a lot of times, when you think of somebody who’s like a game changer— somebody who’s going out there and you know, making a difference, banging down walls—whatever it is they’re doing, you expect that it’s somebody who must be very extroverted and fearless. And not to say that you are not fearless, but I feel like you are in touch with your anxiety, which we all seem to have, and despite that you have broken down walls. Do you want to talk about that a little bit? What are some of the things you’ve done to play by your own rules?

Sarah:

You are one of the most observant, empathic people that I’ve ever met and like I feel like you knew all of these things that you’re saying about me not just from me telling you but from our connections that we’ve had together. I really appreciated that about you. It’s almost like when you’re in your presence it’s like you can see how you navigate the people that you are around and like temper yourself to where they’re at, like meeting them where they’re at which I found really fascinating about you! So it’s so interesting that you noticed all that, and all that is very true. I don’t know how to say it but I’m an introvert and I’m extroverted also, but the extroverting is exhausting because I am forever anxious but I’m also I like a pretty intense daydreamer and observer of my surroundings and people and doing so many different things like so many different jobs, many different things like places with my markets and stuff, I’m always observing who’s represented, who’s missing, what feels good about a certain place, what people are talking about, about how they feel in a space so I think that all of that is kind like little bits and pieces of my experience that I collect to kind of put it back out into the world as an experience.

Watch the entire interview to hear about what it feels like to be an HSP (Highly Sensitive Person) who has ADD and in on the Autism Spectrum. Sarah shares her experience of how “noisy” the world is when the background noise is as loud as the foreground noise. 

Learn also about the dearth of lesbian bars in Canada, and the value of organizations like Fruit Salad Hamilton Edition to provide a safe space for the lesbian, non-binary, questioning, queer and transitioning folx.

What does Sarah like about chiangmaicctv? “It works so well with everyone’s individual style. You can find pieces that you can style in a way that really represents you and others can make the same piece represent them.”