Episode 4 - “Your Weirdness is the Gift: Sandra’s Origin Story”
In our final “origin story intros,” Sandra’s origin episode follows her path from “too much” smart girl in a tiny Texas town to fully claimed crone. She shares what it was like to grow up autistic, bisexual, and deeply curious in a community that labeled her weirdness as wrong, punished her for asking questions, and treated her interests as dangerous. College fed her mind, but real belonging did not click until she found fellow “weirdos”, where her love of stories, strategy, and depth finally matched the room. Teaching, writing, and helping others understand complex ideas became her way of turning that lifelong outsider status into a superpower.
She then traces her time in academia and corporate tech, where her integrity and blunt clarity kept colliding with systems that prized compliance over truth. From being praised as the “best boss” by her teams and dismissed by executives, to being told to soften what is celebrated in men, Sandra names the moral injury of staying in spaces that demand you betray yourself. Now in her crone era, she claims her role as the wise woman who refuses to play small and urges listeners to protect their weirdness, listen to their bodies, and stand with those resisting injustice.
“Things” to Think About From This Episode:
Where are you still playing small or hiding your “weirdness” to make other people comfortable?
What signals is your body sending about work, relationships, or systems that feel morally off?
Download the full transcript here: https://tinyurl.com/tiredaf-s1-ep-4
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