Prompt 1: What is your elevator pitch?
When I read this prompt I immediately thought, “I don’t know what I am doing with my life! How can I have an elevator pitch?” I then realized I am working on quite a bit. It is just a bit…non-traditional.
So here is goes, my elevator pitch:
I am working on diving deep into the depths of self exploration in the wake of my mother’s death. I am prioritizing the things that make me the happiest; my pets, good food, exercise, art, and being in nature. I am also learning how to be a beginner. When my world was turned upside down, it felt as if I had to learn how to walk again. I am learning how to play the violin, paint, draw, meditate, and do yoga.
And this got me thinking more about what I am actually doing in those areas. Round 2:
I am an artist, writer, and designer. I draw inspiration from nature and my life to create pieces that add a bit of whimsy to the everyday and encourage a sense of play and presence, which after my mother’s death became extremely important to me. I do live painting at events and festivals, design stationary and home goods, and make art that will liven up any space.
Prompt 2: What difference do you want to make?
I am 25. There is not a day that goes by where I don’t think about this. I still don’t have an extremely clear answer, but I can write about what has become important to me.
- I want to break down the social norms associated with sexuality, gender, and race. I want to create spaces and art that make people examine and question their assumptions about other people.
- I want to change how we deal with death and grieving in this country. It drives me nuts that so many people in America (the only place I can speak about) are so uncomfortable with the idea of death that they can’t talk to or support people who are grieving. I feel like this comes from a lack of understanding, as well as fear, and I want to increase the understanding that people have about what it is like to lose a loved one. Luckily, there are other people talking unashamed about their experiences with death and grieving and it is getting more attention lately with movies like “Wild” being made from the book by Sheryl Strayed.
- I want to bring more beauty and love into the world. There are so many bad things that happen every day, and so many of them stem from things like mental illness, trauma, and abuse. I am grateful to be in therapy to process mine, and to be learning how to surround myself with people who are also working to undo the weird brain habits that a dysfunctional family can create. However, many people don’t have that opportunity for whatever their reason is. There can’t be too much love. This is a more personal difference, I think, and I am creating this change by living it. I am also surrounding myself with beautiful things and people.
Prompt 3: What revolution do you want to lead?
[This one is a bit harder than the first two to answer. I have so many emotional things tied to the word revolution, due to the time I have spent being an activist and being vocal in government. To me, revolution is tied strictly to the realm of government and society. To have a product revolution, for example, is something I scoff at.]
My revolution is social. It involves a complete reworking of how we, as people, interact with each other, with ourselves, and with nature. It is a restructuring of norms, behaviors, and spaces. We each interact with each other carrying many unexamined privileges, assumptions, traumas, and goals.
One piece of this revolution involves examining those pieces that make up each of us, individually. This is done through therapy, support groups, discussion groups, and reading and reflection. It involves creating spaces where this work can happen. I am lucky that it is already happening for some things here in Austin, where I live, and it is being met by very radical and inspiring people who are challenging me to grow and learn at every opportunity. It is a part of the revolution that is never-ending. We each are retraining our brains to not discriminate based on hate, to not cast out based on fear. It is probably the most difficult part. For me at least it is.
Another piece of this revolution is changing how we interact with each other. This involves challenging how we communicate with those around us, how we set (or don’t set) boundaries, and how we interact with other people to bring about what we desire. A lot of this is based on my own experiences having to rewire what I learned about communication and relationships from my dysfunctional past. This is another piece that is ongoing.
The last part that is obvious to me, at this moment, would be fostering supportive relationships for ourselves and to ourselves. The other two pieces hinge on having healthy and supportive relationships with other people who are dedicated to the same things; love, honesty, and beauty. For me, this has been a confusing piece, since my role models were not a healthy standard. Because of this, I have had to try on different people, to see what the qualities are that feel right to me, and to learn from people who I see functioning in healthy relationships and careers. I have had to very consciously mold friendships to be supportive and loving. I have had to cut certain people out of my life who were disrespectful of me and the healthy boundaries I am trying to set. I have had to become very vulnerable in the face of my mother’s death and ask for help. I have had to cut down on obligations to give myself the time and space to even get to know who I am (still learning) to be able to set healthy boundaries around what is important to me. I have had to learn how to take care of my self in a way that doesn’t lead to burn out. Most of this, in my experience, wasn’t taught by our society, but it is so important. It is the foundation to listening and then achieving what your heart desires.
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And there you have it. A huge piece of who I am, laid out in a nice neat format. So now, instead of just asking for your take on these prompts in the comments below (I still want you to do that,) I would like to ask you for some advice. After reading these, what are my next steps? My prompted writing challenge is over, although I am still going to continue writing weekly if not daily. Does anything that I mentioned resonate with you as something I could help you with, or something that you are also struggling with? How?