This is a post I did awhile ago when I was operating under the brand PushingTheReset. It seemed especially poignant because of last night's full moon reflections. I'd thought I'd share it here, in case you might benefit from it to.
I never imagined that one of my twitter posts would gain as much traction as it did. In fact, I'm surprised that it went beyond my normal audience. (And by the standards of folks with huge social media followings, this post is no where close to going viral!) Nonetheless, it's far more popular than any other I've ever posted on that account. It's validating in a strange (but good) kind of way.
Let me explain.
I've played around a lot with this space and my other social media feeds. I'm always torn about how political/ratchet/spiritual/academic I should be in any of those spaces.
Truth be told, the podcast is probably where I'm my most balanced Self, but that's another story.
Anywhoo, I've struggled trying to figure out which one of my faces I most want to present to the world. After all, I'm a prof, an educational consultant, and spiritual practitioner. I've never wanted to offend any of my audiences. But, in the process of me struggling to balance all of my Selves with what I think others want from me, I've sacrificed my own voice.
Let me be honest, I've had loved ones and mentors tell me to be careful of how transparent I am on social media (I'm sure I'm not alone in this). But at the same time, I've watched wonderful women build huge followings due, in part, to their honesty and transparency. So I've been torn. Who am I (on social media)? Before today, I don't think I could have answered that question.
So that's where "the" post comes in. I wrote it in a bit of a fit. I'm increasingly frustrated by educators that don't seem to think about the political nature of our work. I'm frustrated because I know education is where a lot of ideological battles are waged and that far too frequently it is the children of already marginalized populations that are sacrificed to wars of policy and reform and nothingness-curricula. So I was angry and frustrated and I brought all of that to my post.
Looking back, I think that's where my greatest power lies: in being my whole Self. Not censored. Not abbreviated. Not filtered. I guess I wrote all of this to warn you: the content of this blog and most of my other feeds will change. They'll be more reflective of who I am beyond the compartmentalized Tip you may be more accustomed to. I don't think I'm apologizing for that.
I don't think.
At least not yet (smile).
Always true,
Dr. Tip
PS: Are you following on me on Twitter?