I did not march in the protest, though I wanted to. I wanted my voice in the chorus of power, to tell the country exactly where I stood. Certain barriers, though invisible, were overpowering. Barriers like anxiety, which are overwhelming at the most inconvenient times, can get Rudolph to keep himself out of the reindeer games.
As frustration mounts, I know that simply standing by the wayside is not an option. To be mute is as unforgivable as being with the opponents. Stagnancy has no place here.
So I revert to what I know makes me feel stronger: art.
Art is a great portal to a welcoming world. It is all-encompassing, it is all-consuming, or at least it should be. It is communication without speaking.
A test run
Art is the foundation from which happiness grows. It doesn’t have to be a Degas, it only has to be a you. It has to be genuinely you. That’s the only rule.
The piece above isn’t exactly breath-taking, but it’s all me. It was a message that railed against the walls of my brain. It would not be ignored until it was let out.
This is how you can protest. Fight with your head and hands, and you will always come out the winner.
In a freelancer’s world, you can do whatever you want. However, whatever it is you want to do had better include some element of sales, or your “product/service” won’t get far.
Sales requires confidence. Regardless of whether it’s inherent, or more fake-it-til-you-make-it, it needs to exist inside of you.
This is where Trump comes in, and the hypothetical Achilles heel walks the path. It’s no secret that I don’t like anything about him. I didn’t vote for him. I was vocally for Bernie Sanders from start to finish. Trump’s self-esteem trampled over the line to the darker side of arrogance. His bluntly honest prejudice against races, sexes and sexual proclivities makes my skin crawl.
Having said that, let’s take a hard look at the last couple of years and use another term for what Donald Trump is; the “Underdog”.
Normally, I root for the underdog. Movies, sports, movies about sports, Davy versus Goliath, the one guy moving against the crowds, running in the opposite direction. Reality seems to be the only platform where I want the underdog euthanized.
From the beginning, Trump had everyone laughing that he was even going to try to run. Then the campaigning started, and the general idea was that this was simply a publicity stunt. People all across the nation were waiting for the punchline, where none existed. This orange dude was still going! He was saying some of the most repugnant things, unimaginable to the minds of us “liberals”, but he was still in the race, and we lost Bernie and had to back up Hillary, simply because she was the only front-runner who wasn’t Trump.
And he beat her.
Disbelief led to rage and tears, which led to a hashtag frenzy in this modern-day age of #notmypresident’s, #wtf’s , #fourmoreyears and so on. Everyone who has a heart and actually believes in equality was asking, “how could this happen?” Oh yeah, the electoral college. The new guy in charge won them over, and that’s all that mattered as far as he was concerned. They’re the ones with the money. They’re the ones who get the final say.
Whether this was a fact easily hidden, or easily forgotten, it matters not. It is what it is.
So how does this translate into the world of freelancing? C’mon, Carrie, bring this back to the start of the circle.
You have to make your audience believe you’re the best at what you do, that they won’t get a better product or service elsewhere. Whether by building a flashy website with examples of your work and references, or holding a meeting with a presentation and PowerPoint.
This — all of this — takes a lot of confidence and conviction in yourself. It also takes a talent of dancing on that fine line that – when plucked — quivers from “confidence” to “arrogance”. It takes time to build the foundation, naturally. But it’s time well spent if you believe in what you are selling. If your product/service is truly awesome, it oftentimes sells itself.
Here are five (and a half) important questions to ask yourself:
1. Do you know your audience?
2. Do you know the proper environment for your product/service? Is this something that’s only regional, or could it be taken nationwide?
3. Are your prices reasonable for what you’re doing?
4. Is there competition? If so, how can you “beat them at the game”?
5. What is your daily regime, and is there space for alternatives? Meaning, if you generally get up at eight in the morning, do your exercises, then have breakfast and then get started on your work, will a new contract that requires you to show up at their site by 8:30 a.m. throw you off your game?
5a. Do you have the resolve and flexibility to make amendments to your day?
These are all important questions to ask yourself. If you find yourself answering “no” to any of them, you might want to consider finding a way to say “yes” to them, at least initially.
Today feels like a funeral. Rest in peace, Hope. Rest in peace, Promise of Better Days.
I’ve been staring at this screen, trying to figure out what I could possibly state that hasn’t already been stated in so many ways, so many times over. It isn’t simply a sense of being bereft. And no, I’m not going to “just get over it”. That’s impossible. I’m having a hard enough time getting through it.
This new era, for lack of a better term, is not brave, nor is it encouraging. These are scary times. Beyond the fear of the unknown, I’m dealing with anxiety of what I am – admittedly – assuming is going to happen. As a woman, I am scared of having my rights taken away from me just because Drumpf wants the power. Health insurance is a human need in this day and age. To have Obamacare repealed, with nothing supplied in it’s stead, means for me a potential slow death. Getting health insurance from the temp agency I get a majority of my work from will take a chunk of money out of my weekly pay.
If I don’t get health insurance, I get fined. If I do get health insurance, I get charged. Whether it’s “fined” or “charged”, I still have to pay to live. Sounds a lot like getting mugged, right? Yeah, that’s how it feels, too.
I worry that I have to look over my shoulder now, checking to see if some asshole is going to try and put his paws on me because he assumes he can. Is someone going to order me to “go back where you came from”, simply because they hear my accent? Do I have to adopt an American accent, sounding cartoon-y and obnoxious again, like I did when I was a kid? Just to try and blend in? To ensure a new target isn’t self-drawn?
In the beginning of this year, I had silently resolved to not revert to politics in every conversation I have.
That’s money saved! Now that I’m no longer giving them my money, I have to find other cookies to eat. Hey there, Trader Joe’s! What’s doin’?
After posting the blog on the Facebook page for Shaunta Grimes’ Ninja Writers (a closed group), someone read it and proceeded to tell me to “get over it, you lost!” At which point, I stood up for myself and told Rainbow Brite – in no uncertain terms – that with Drumpf, we all lose. Someone else piped in saying it was a political post, which is partially true. (It was mostly about not getting young girls involved in the politics that involve a highly publicised sexual aggressor.)
I said it. I meant it. I stand by it.
Ms. Grimes apparently couldn’t handle this with diplomacy, and wordlessly booted me off the page. No warning. No mediation.
So much for freedom of speech, eh?
No problem.
As I type all of this, the Inept-guration is happening now. I can’t watch the nightmare.
The question now is, where do we go from here? A part of me would like to hide in an underground bunker hidden away in a state that neither Drumpf nor his mail-order bride knows about. Another part of me wants to expand my work and succeed, just to spite the racist xenophobe dick-tator. Rise up and take power of my life, my career as a writer, my hobbies in art, and to live my united-colours-of-Benetton existence and treat my neighbours of all colours, creeds and religions or lack-thereof, with respect.
Except Trump supporters. They can fuck off into traffic. He might be their president, but he’s not mine.
As someone who has spent well over two decades enjoying Girl Scout cookies (So many boxes of Thin Mints later, still not thin!), yesterday came as a blow when I had to decide they would no longer be a part of my life. Oh well. Looks like it’s just you and me, Joe-Joe’s!
Unless you’ve isolated yourself from all current events — and let’s face it, that IS a tempting idea — then you’ve heard that Girl Scouts will still be marching in the Inauguration shitshow…er, parade. Them, and every D-list celebrity you didn’t know was still alive. I suddenly can understand why Joanie stopped loving Chachi.
Back to the Girl Scouts.
I have a HUGE problem with them participating in the un-American Inept-Auguration. For an organization that is supposedly about female empowerment and teaching girls to be self-sufficient and helpful towards their fellow sisters and other people, I find it audacious that they will have any of their girls participate in this march in any capacity.
It seems as though Girl Scouts are more concerned with getting exposure than protecting the ideals, rights and honour of their troops.
While they want to state that they are a-political and do not favour one party or the other, they need to keep in mind that their customers are NOT a-political, and they DO stand on one side or the other.
Beyond that, Drumpf is a proven sexual offender, registered or not. He has been caught on a hot mic speaking about how he forces himself on women whether they want it or not. Not to put too fine a point on it, this orange POS wants to take away the rights of women who want full control of their own body, threatening to “punish them” if they go through with abortions.
Yet, they are supporting a very specific now-political figure who is doing his damnedest to disrespect, dishonour, and further objectify women. Drumpf has proven — repeatedly — that he cannot be trusted to treat all sexes, races and ethnicities with equality. He is working on repealing a healthcare program that has helped well over 10 million people.
And this is what Girl Scouts wants to support?
As a female American citizen, I cannot in good conscience support an organization that is willing to sell out and compromise the very people it states it was created for. Furthermore, I would encourage parents to look to healthier organizations for their daughters to participate in.
Behavioural Issues 