Dept. of Fandom Snowflake
Me, Glorious Me! Kinda. Sorta. Occasionally.
Challenge #7 - Promote/Rec/Sing the Praises of Yourself!
The world tells us we must be humble, we must take a compliment, but never to compliment ourselves. Never toot our own horn and many other cliches about how to be proper and not overbearingly egotistical. We at FSC say, f&#k that! Tell us of all the ways you are the BEST! All the things you’ve done, want to do or will one day do. All the ways you are marvelously you.
OK ... while I try to figure out a better set of answers to Challenge 6, here's my chance to tell you about how marvelous I am.
You know, this is kind of dangerous one for me, in more than one way.
Firstly: I grew up Northern Baptist and, whilst I am reliably informed by those who grew up Catholic and/or Jewish (or possibly anyone who had a mother or grandmother in the habit of telling them "You're not nearly as [fill in the blank] as you think you are, missy!") that this particular doesn't hobble me nearly as much as their particulars, and whilst Northern Baptists are fairly liberal as Calvinist-derived Protestant Christianity goes, it's still Calvinist-derived, and thus talking myself up still makes me nervous.
Secondly: I'm Canadian.
Thirdly: I have an enormous ego, with which I must wrestle daily. I'm aware that I have gifts, but I try not to talk about them (possibly because of that "Firstly" above and definitely because of that "Secondly"). But that also leaves me with the balancing act of not trying to be too ostentatiously humble.
Yes, of course that's a thing.
Anyhow, let's see if I can do this:
1. I write. Really well.
a) In non-fiction, I've won awards for my feature writing. I write general news clearly and understandably, from budget stories to relatively complicated long-running issue stories. I've had readers and sources alike tell me that's true.
b) I also write fiction which I think is good and sometimes excellent. I think I have a good handle on characterization, plot, and world-building, and my generally above-average command of the language allows me to express those things well and sometimes memorably.
c) I can evangelize well in print. It's a valuable talent.
d) I am a good reporter; I tell the truth, I check the facts, I don't misquote people - or when I do, I correct the record as soon as possible - and I honor off-the-record agreements (agreements, mind you, must involve two people; it doesn't involve one person saying "this is off the record," then going on at length without checking to see if the reporter agrees.) I judge my record by the number of short and long-term sources over my career who have trusted me, and who have said in public that they trust me. I am very proud of that. I am also proud of the people who I've written about in features, who have called or written me to tell me I got the heart of their story.
2. I get along well with people. That has proven important in reporting, but also in my union life. I've been told I'm diplomatic. While that can sometimes be confused with rampant cowardice on my part, I think diplomacy is one of my talents.
3. I used to be able to sing, really well, both as a back up singer (I have fairly natural harmonic abilities) and as a lead singer. That's gone now, but it enabled me to be a decent chick singer in an unsuccessful rock and roll band.
4. I have theatrical impulses. Those have served me as a reporter, as a union operative, and as a singer.
5. I listen to people. I try to understand what they need, what they're sad about, what they're happy about. I like to think I can, and have, served as a sounding board, a spongey and comfortable shoulder on which to cry, and a source of help when necessary and possible. I think I do those things fairly well.
6. I have a really good sense of humor.
There, that's it. I can't do it anymore. Mind you, I got pretty verbose there, didn't I?
Oh, and I can navigate my self-penned overly long sentences pretty well. See above.
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