We Are Not the Puzzle

I’ve never liked the puzzle piece.

Not because I don’t understand the intention behind it, but because of what it quietly suggests, that people are the problem, that we are missing something, that we need fixing or figuring out.

That’s never felt true to my life.

What has felt true is this: life itself is full of puzzles.

From early on, it felt like different challenges were placed in front of me, without instructions. Situations I was expected to navigate. Systems I was expected to understand. Expectations I was expected to meet, often without support, and often without anyone explaining the rules.

Each one felt like its own puzzle.

And just like a jigsaw, I didn’t see the full picture straight away.

I picked up pieces as I went. Some fit immediately. Some didn’t make sense at the time. Some had to be put down and returned to later. Some only found their place years afterwards.

That didn’t mean I was broken. It meant I was learning.

What bothers me about the puzzle piece symbol is that it places the puzzle inside the person. It suggests that the individual is incomplete when, in reality, many of the struggles people face come from trying to move through a world that wasn’t designed with differences in mind.

The puzzle isn’t who we are.

The puzzle is navigating education systems, workplaces, relationships, expectations, noise, pressure, responsibility, and constant change, often all at once.

There is strength in learning how to work things out piece by piece. There is intelligence in adapting. There is resilience in continuing forward even when the picture isn’t clear yet.

A jigsaw doesn’t come together because the pieces are wrong.

It comes together with time, patience, and perspective.

So no, I don’t relate to the puzzle piece.

I relate to the process. To move forward while thinking. To stand at the edge of uncertainty and still choose to take the next step.

We are not puzzles waiting to be solved.

We are people navigating the puzzles life places in front of us, one piece, one step, at a time.

Sometimes the picture only makes sense when you look back.