Planet Papalla

Sometimes I say I’m from Planet Papalla.

At first, it sounds like a joke. And to be fair, it is a reference, a playful 1960s Italian ad from the show Carosello, where strange, round little creatures (the “Papallesi”) live on a distant planet where joy and invention rule the week.

But if you’ve heard me say it, or read it, and wondered why, here’s the truth behind the smile:

I often feel like I don’t belong on this planet.

Not in a dramatic, alienated way. But in the quiet, familiar ache of someone who’s never quite fit.

I was born into a world that values volume, speed, and conformity. A world that often only sees people when they perform a role, not when they simply are.

And yet, my mind has always moved differently.
Curious. Inventive. Soft.
Drawn to technology before it was cool.
Drawn to connection deeper than small talk.
Drawn to signals, not noise.

I used to think this made me strange.
Now I say I’m from Papalla.

A place where the weird is normal,
where joy is part of the rhythm of life,
where you don’t have to shout to be heard.
Where softness isn’t a flaw, it’s the language.

So no, “Papalla” isn’t nonsense. It’s not just a joke. It’s my way of saying:

“I know I move differently.
I come from somewhere gentler.
And even if I’m here now,
I remember where I came from.”

And if you’ve ever felt that way too, like you were beamed down to the wrong world, or shaped in a way others don’t recognize, then maybe you’re a little Papallese too.

🪐 Transmission ends, yet still broadcasting.
🌷 Tulpe della Montagna