I made a sad discovery last night.

I am a proud street artist. My schtick is providing free artwork for the masses. People can donate if they want, but it's not a requirement. I am in my busy time this year because people are out and about, trying to find gifts for friends and loved ones. I usually have no problem clearing my table because my stuff is so "gift-friendly"--hence, why I am so proud.

I'm a member of another message board. As with many popular message boards, it has spawned an evil twin board--where the members just talk crap about the members of the other board. I do not post there, but yesterday I made the mistake of browsing. I shall never do this again.

I discovered a thead about me and how crazy I am. Someone posted about how they once met me in person while I was giving away my artwork. They confirmed to the group that I am indeed crazy. The poster even relayed a "crazy" conversation I supposedly had with him/her. I don't remember it at all, but the poster did describe my idiosyncracies pretty accurately. So it must have happened and I just don't remember.

Lemme tell you, I was so hurt by this discovery. I am still hurt. I know that I am eccentric, but the person being talked about wasn't just "quirky". It was a bonafied crazy person. It hurts to realize that this is how I present to the world.

The only positive thing was that the poster said nice things about my artwork. If he had bashed my artwork too, I probably would have lost it completely.

I don't know what to do with this information. How can I improve myself when I don't have enough insight to really know how weird I am?