A few weeks ago, I got pretty vulnerable when I put a portion of my story out into the world. The vulnerability hangover, a Brené Brown term that's ridiculously relatable, put me into a bit of a tailspin. I won't lie. It wasn't exactly what I was "planning" to do in 2020. But that's a completely different topic, isn't it?
After writing my previous blog post, and appearing on a podcast, I was flooded with an outpouring of support. And I have some of you to thank for it.
Consider this a statement of my heartfelt gratitude and virtual hugs!
But because I chose to speak out as a survivor, calling for action to advocate for change and begging the world to examine its organizational flaws, there were some who asked well-meaning questions and others who simply unfollowed me here on the blog and on social media as well. Not that I have a habit of checking metrics often, but thank social media for changing its setup and causing me to stumble into a spot where I was shown how many unfollows I had that same week.
After mentioning this in a business zoom call with some other entrepreneurs, I was told that I needed to be careful about staying "on brand." But let's face it. If you've followed my work for any amount of time, you'll know that I'm not exactly the "do all the things right" girl. I'm a "follow your heart" kind of girl and if that means showing up for yourself in ways no one else will understand, I'll get behind you every step of the way.
Still, there are lingering questions from every side that have certainly got me thinking. I have parts of my story that are hard and dark and unique, yes. But I've survived every single one of them. As a mentor of mine, Cathy Heller, often says, "You've survived 100% of your worst days."
And that's true of us all. Does the truth that terribly hard things have happened in our lives make the pretty pictures we post on Instagram mean any less? No. In fact, I think it matters that much more!
Perhaps the beauty we have to show this world comes from surviving the darkest of nights.
What you and I create matters. And I won't rebrand my business from TheCreativU to reflect the advocacy work I intend to continue. But I believe now more than ever that each bit of it matters...that they truly go hand in hand.
Over the next few months, I'll be chatting with you about different creative interests as I have in the past. In fact, next week, my son, Jack Pordea will guest post an interesting take on the music industry as he begins his own creative business career. Hopefully, you'll find value in what we have planned and will be able to use our experiences to help you become the most creative YOU you can be. See what I did there?
And as you follow along, I hope you know how grateful I am to know that through the ups and downs, the hard stories and the fluff, there are those of you who support the fight for change when it comes to injustice. Because there's more of that to come as well.
To creativity that will change the world, friends!