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Hi Friend!
I CANNOT believe it’s November! The year has been flying by. The past month for me, consisted of a friend’s bridal shower, lots of dark lipstick, our annual trip to Halloween Horror Nights, a fresh haircut & color, working toward an update on some brand details, our annual Halloween party with LOTS of party prep and a trip to Philadelphia! (If you’re following my instastory, you know about all of this already. If you’re not following my instastory, CLICK HERE).
It’s kind of unbelievable to me that I’ve been working on this e-zine for almost a year now. The first edition went out on December 1, 2016! It’s also kind of unbelievable to me how much my perspective has changed since then. I feel like I’ve gone from crying my feelings at you, to preaching to you, to trying to teach a little something, to just maybe trying to help someone. Working through creating this e-zine has taught me so much about myself and the process has lead me to better understand what I want to be putting out into the world. I think I have a better understanding of who I need to be, to be who I needed when I was younger (bringing it back to edition #2).
In prior editions (#7 & #8 specifically) I've talked about how privilege is literally woven into the “web" of our society (Halloween pun intended). I know I’ve been beating this point to death and you are probably thinking, “Ok Tara, I get it…but what can I DO about it?” Tear down the web of privilege!
USE YOUR PRIVILEGE TO END YOUR PRIVILEGE.
In other words, now that I understand what privilege is, I acknowledge that I have it and that I benefit from it (BIG TIME), I need to start using it to help others who don’t have it. I talked about my feelings of guilt & shame that came along with acceptance of my own white privilege in edition #6 of the e-zine. Realizing that people are oppressed by very virtue of your existence, whether it’s any fault of your own to begin with, is a painful experience. One thing I've found helpful in shifting feelings of guilt is by taking responsibility for my part in the problem and putting my energy toward finding solutions. I don’t need to be perfect, but I know better, so I should do better. That’s what this e-zine is for me ♥
Another thing I’ve come to understand is the importance of calling others in vs calling them out (Ngọc Loan Trần on Black Girl Dangerous). I’ve been working on ways to make calling in less painful for my introverted personality (again, INFJ here!). I’ve realized that an easier way for me to call others in, is to let them come to me. If you wear your privilege on your sleeve, others are very likely to ask questions and want to know what you’re up to. If this idea resonates with you, stay tuned for next month’s edition when I’ll be releasing something to help you wear your privilege on your sleeve literally!
Thanks for reading this edition of Tarabytes! I’ll be back next month with a big announcement (possibly more than one) and more ideas on how to use your privilege to end your privilege!
Love,
Tara A.
