Curiosities and Inner Monsters: How to Embrace What Makes Us Unique

Have you ever stopped to think about what makes you unique? It’s not just your appearance or your talents, but also those parts of you that don’t quite fit the way they’re "supposed to."

In Filipino culture, there are priestesses called Babaylan, wise women who can speak with spirits, heal, and lead communities. Interestingly, many of them are chosen because of their differences: tics, hallucinations, depressions... In their worldview, these signs indicate they have been called by the spirits. To accept the call, they go through initiation rites centered around embracing their own curiosities.

This concept inspired Zana Fraillon and Phill Lesnie to create the wonderful book The Curiosities. Zana’s son was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, so it was inevitable for her to connect her Filipino roots with the idea of approaching diversity from a completely different perspective than what we are used to.

In many of our homes, we have neurodivergent people, those who experience reality in unique ways. And in every home, there are people who don’t quite fit the mold; those who find it difficult to blend into the roles and routines that others seem to handle with ease. Our culture is so accustomed to “what should be” that stepping outside the norm often leads to rejection, fear, or discrimination.

But The Curiosities presents us with a universe inspired by a community that sees differences as signs of distinct abilities, an open door to knowledge of other dimensions. In that community, diversity enriches everyone because it recognizes the opportunity for new knowledge. And what’s fascinating is that this isn’t just a utopia. It’s the real possibility of believing we are valuable just as we are, from the moment we are born.

Many of us live in a constant state of anxiety, unable to view ourselves from an angle that allows us to love and value our own curiosities. We struggle to see that what makes us different could actually be the key to our personal growth. The story of Miro, the main character, is the story of us all. He begins to notice his curiosities, just as we all eventually realize the little things that make us unique. Sometimes they cause us pain or anguish, sometimes they make us feel out of place. Miro feels overwhelmed by the darkness, unable to control his curiosities, until the Babaylan enters the story. Through this encounter, Miro learns to dissipate the darkness, recognize the power in his curiosities, and see the curiosities in others.

The book expertly weaves Filipino magical thinking into the story, depicting curiosities as aswang, shapeshifting and terrifying creatures. Each aswang has its own unique powers, just as each of us has distinctive traits that set us apart. It’s a fitting metaphor for how our internal monsters, our shadows, these curiosities that sometimes scare us, are there to help us discover our true power.

The Curiosities invites us to move between magical thinking and reality, reminding us that we are multidimensional beings. But above all, it’s a book that celebrates nature, showing that everything—and everyone—has a purpose, is connected, and holds a sacred dimension.

One of the beautiful things that emerges from this illustrated book is how it allows us to see these “curiosities” from a visual and artistic perspective. Drawing or writing about them is a powerful tool for facing them, just like Miro did when he embraced his own. Putting on paper what troubles us—whether through words or images—helps us strip away their threatening nature and begin to understand them. It’s a way to give form to the intangible, and in doing so, we also start to accept them and see their beauty and purpose in our lives. Perhaps that’s the true power of our curiosities: transforming them into art, and in doing so, transforming how we see ourselves.