It’s good stress. And not all that stressful. And it’s my own fault for putting myself in this position.
I don’t know. It makes me appreciate even more what Yulin did in the fan-canon experiment with KiTR (though this is very different, and on a much smaller scale). One of the things that made that work, I think, was how skillful she is at working with people she barely knows, finding aspects of what they do to celebrate while not doing so in a way that could promote misunderstanding or hurt feelings on the part of them or of others who weren’t singled out. But I bet it was a lot of work for her. And she’s really good at it.
I’m not Yulin.
The fact is, I exaggerated when I said I could write a post that long with headcanon for all the people I follow. The truth, I’ve come to realize, is that while I could write at length about most of them, with many it wouldn’t be very interesting or otherwise worth sharing; it would just be a list of things I’ve come to believe, some of which would turn out to be mistaken, and some of which, even if true, would just seem creepy, because the likely reaction would be: whoa; really? You noticed and remembered _that_ obscure piece of self-revelation?
But there’s another chunk of people, people I’ve followed for some time about whom I could write at length in a way that maybe _would_ be worth sharing. Those are the people I was thinking about when I wrote that line.
You’re in that group. So I wrote a headcanon for you, and I’m taking the risk of posting it publicly. I hope that’s okay.
I think about you a lot. (And just like that I’m already worried I’m edging over into creepiness.)
But it’s true. You just seem so cool. I admire the way you’ve raised my (and other people’s) consciousness about the issue of the Australian government’s treatment of refugees. It’s not an issue I had any awareness of before. The way you’ve presented it really impresses me. It just seems like a very mature, compassionate, intelligent way to think about and respond to the issue.
I admire the work you’ve done with helping children learn about science. That is such a worthwhile endeavor. It makes me happy to think of that happening.
One of the reasons I’ve had trouble responding to all the requests for individual headcanon is that my wife (mostly) and I (to a lesser extent) have been working for the last few weeks organizing a memorial service for a dear friend of ours who died recently. The memorial took place yesterday afternoon.
Katie was a such a wonderful person in so many ways that I can’t begin to explain. But you would have loved her. You two would have had a lot in common, I think.
I bring her up because one of the ways I interacted with her was to volunteer each year for an Earth Day celebration at a local natural area (an area she was instrumental in saving from development 20 years ago). Katie was the driving force in making it so every third grader (kids aged about 9 or 10) in Carpinteria got to take a field trip to the site each year. Small groups of children rotate through a dozen different activities headed up by volunteers who share their love for science, or nature, or art, or poetry.
My activity at those celebrations is usually bird-watching. It’s so much fun sharing that with the kids. It’s such a wonderful age. Anyway, the things you’ve written about the work you do with children really resonate with me, because I love doing things like that myself, and you seem to feel the same way.
And there’s your art. I’ve written before about how affected I’ve been by seeing you begin that process and share it with your followers, and progress to the amazing place you’re at now. It’s a direct challenge to the lazy fiction I (and probably others) have about art: oh, _I_ could never do that. I mean, look at Monet, and then look at me.
What your example gently but firmly demonstrates is that such a comparison is irrelevant. I will never be Monet. But I can still create, and become a better artist, as long as I’m willing to be diligent (to continue to iterate) and honest (to evaluate my own work with some objectivity). And that’s a very compelling lesson. It makes you a heroine in my eyes.
There are sillier aspects of my headcanon. At one point you shared some photos of your wedding. It was such a lovely setting, and the people looked so happy. I basically constructed a whole fantasy version of that event in my head, with every Happily Ever After cliché, and you as the beautiful Disney princess at the center of it.
Also, I love your dad’s Tumblr. I must have come across him originally through you, though I followed him and got way into his blog (especially the poetry translations) without realizing you were related. It was a fun surprise when I found out who he was. In my silly headcanon, it felt like I was in some sense responsible for bringing the two of you together. :-)
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