WANT THE NEXT EDITIONS OF TARABYTES SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX EACH MONTH? CLICK HERE TO SIGN-UP!
Oh hey, it's December. WTF. HOW, has this year flown by so fast? Working on this e-zine over the past year has brought me a lot of clarity and helped me to put words to some feelings I didn't even know I had. I think working on this e-zine has done more for me than any therapy session ever has (I do prob need to go back to that soon though. Another thought for another day)! I started the e-zine in December of 2016, feeling lost and confused, knowing I had to use my voice in some way. I was full of passion but had no idea how to really put that passion to good use (#1). And now, a year later, though still lost and confused pretty often, I know that I want to be using my privilege toward ending my privilege (#11) and I have a much clearer picture of the type of content I want to be putting out into the world. And while I do think that I've been pursuing the goal of using my privilege to end privilege with the past year's content, I also feel sort of like I've been hiding in a way.
#1
#11
I've spent a lot of time over the last year doing research on and reading about empathy, compassion, equity, equality, and privilege, in an effort to be as knowledgeable on those topics as possible. I have a tendency to always feel unprepared, regardless of how hard I work, and I don't give myself credit for the knowledge I possess. I also have a bit of social anxiety, so talking to strangers, especially in situations where I want to come across as an "authority", is difficult for me. I hoped that by stuffing as much knowledge on the topics into my head as possible, I'd be prepared to answer any and all questions or have the perfect "comeback" in any situation. But while I've been doing that, you know what I haven't been doing? Talking to people.
But let’s be real, that is NOT always easy, especially for an introvert like me! I'm often unsure of how to start the conversation, or what to say when I do get a conversation started. I'm awkward enough already in social situations without having to talk about “controversial" topics like privilege! Because of this, I think I've been using this e-zine and "research" as a way to avoiding really putting myself out there to more publicly use my privilege to end privilege. REAL TALK: I'm scared! I'm afraid of the reactions I'll receive. I'm afraid of not being prepared to answer every question as completely and responsibly as possible. Of inadvertently doing more harm than good. I worry about making others feel threatened, as I once felt when the concept of privilege was very new to me.
Something I've realized throughout this never-ending journey of learning about my privilege is the incredible power of sharing stories. My biggest "aha" moments around privilege have come from hearing about the experiences of those with less privilege than I have. This got me thinking...talking about myself is easy, it's the topic I know more than anything else about! I could easily answer any and all questions about my own story because IT'S MINE! Who knows it better than me? I could share my own stories! But how can I get people interested? How can I get others to ask?
Ask Me About My Privilege
In an effort to make things easier for myself (because that is my main goal, always) I designed these shirts as a way to "wear my privilege on my sleeve". Plus, people just love to read stuff on shirts (I know I do). I've had a few of these shirts laying around the house for a couple weeks now, and I've been too nervous to wear them out of the house. So this is the first step for me in coming out from behind the computer, so to speak!
We all exert a certain amount of influence, even if only on the few people closest to us. Though I have dreams of someday influencing many more people, I'm realizing more and more, that "someday" never comes: we touch lives NOW. I want to be a positive influence on those people who I am touching day to day. I want to use my privilege to end my privilege. In an effort to do this, I'm going to proudly wear my shirts, and be prepared to talk about them. I know my shit, now I need to talk to others about it! Please join me!
Order an Ask Me About My Privilege shirt HERE
My hope with these shirts is that I'll not only have the opportunity to talk to someone about my privilege but also that I'll feel inspired to work even harder toward ending privilege! And even though I've not even worn the shirts out yet, I'm already so inspired with tons ideas for new resources that I hope can be helpful in conjunction with the shirts or on their own. In fact, now that I have a bit more direction, I want to start to focus my energy on using the knowledge I've gained over the last year to compile and create resources that are empathetic, thoughtful and respectful. I want to create resources that make bringing up and talking about privilege be easier for everyone involved! I want this mostly for myself, but I know I can't be alone in wanting this! Because of this, going forward, I'm going to change things up a bit with Tarabytes! Rather than continuing with Tarabytes being a monthly e-zine, you'll now get an e-zine quarterly and little updates here and there when I have cool stuff to share or just whenever I feel like it (I PROMISE I won't spam you though)!
Thank you so much for reading this edition of Tarabytes, and for all your support over the past year! If you would like to support me further, click the link below and purchase one of the t-shirts I designed! Post a photo of yourself using the hashtag #askmeaboutmyprivilege. It would make me feel less alone knowing someone else was wearing one!
