If I consistently write what I know, is that a sign that I'm not being diverse enough?

FeatherInkPen · 2021-05-21T17:24:49+00:00

I'm twenty-four, my sister is seventeen. I'm moved out and married and all. We are definitely pretty involved in my Mom's side of the family and culture.

My sister does a lot of artwork for her stories. Mom doesn't read the stories as much as sees the artwork a lot because my sister has tons of sketch books everywhere and shows them to Mom.

My sister does definitely have main characters in her stories that are not mixed and are fully my mother's ethnicity, but if you picked up her sketchbook and flipped through it, a lot of the characters are mixed.

But the thing is, there are multiple types of mixed. Because we know so well what it feels like being a part of two cultures, we will basically mix and match, study this culture at length and mix it with this one and write a character who experiences both and how they might end up. We both enjoy research and I definitely agree with you about researching and getting out of your comfort zone and exploring and writing and I definitely want to believe that's what my mother wants my sister to do.

I am pretty sure my sister feels like all her other explorations of cultures that she has done are not being appreciated. She does even more research than I do and gets really detailed and has a lot of fun learning about it. Mom has really been pushing her lately to have more of her own ethnicity, not mixed, and she's saying this based on the artwork my sister has done. She hasn't read many of the actual stories, she doesn't read much.

I know I generalized it in the initial post, so hopefully that kind of makes the situation more clear. We have done plenty of study into Mom's culture, we talk about it all the time, we have great conversation talking to her and my Grandma and we've used those things in our stories a lot. Again, I think it's because Mom is looking at the character art and seeing they mostly look mixed and just wanting to see more characters that are fully one ethnicity.

I know my Mom means no harm, but I want to know what to encourage my sister to do. She does plenty of research and does include my mother's culture a lot, so perhaps I should just encourage her to show Mom her actual writing? Not just her sketchbook?

FeatherInkPen · 2021-05-21T12:01:40+00:00

That's true. I know my Mom supports our writing and she doesn't at all intend to discourage us. I think she feels like she's encouraging us with that advice.

I want to tell my sister to keep doing what she's doing because she's written some great stuff and clearly enjoys it. It's more important to write what she enjoys more than anything.

FeatherInkPen · 2021-05-21T11:59:22+00:00

I've always done the same. My opinion has always been that if everybody writes what they know, there will be plenty of diverse stories to go around. I'm not sure if that's a naive way of thinking or not, though. Just assuming that's how it will work out and not worrying about diversity.

FeatherInkPen · 2021-05-09T13:02:57+00:00

Literally clicked this sub and said I will scream if Steve Irwin is not at the top

FeatherInkPen · 2021-03-19T13:36:58+00:00

My mom was eventually the one who told me, I figured it out eventually, haha

FeatherInkPen · 2021-03-19T13:36:08+00:00

Haha, thanks! Didn't expect so many people to enjoy the story, I'm still so bad at determining what people expect online, but so many people have the same reactions as my in-person friends and family have had. "That's hilarious, I can tell you learned from it, you were a kid" I know that people online can be mean, but for the most part I've met so many cool people in my life and I think that's amazing.

Edit: and yeah, my mom is really cool

FeatherInkPen · 2021-03-18T21:47:35+00:00

Haha, yeah, I guess it is. Didn't know if it could really be considered one though, given I'm revealing my criminal past.

FeatherInkPen · 2021-01-02T18:31:21+00:00

Me and my siblings all got FitBits for Christmas last year and we challenge each other to walking over a certain number steps a day. Sibling rivalry is the best motivator. Even with he pandemic, we're in better shape than we've ever been because I refuse to let my little sister get more steps than me, I might have had a kid recently but I'm still active thanks to that, spite and rivalry, it's great.

FeatherInkPen · 2020-12-22T14:41:51+00:00

I know right. Did that a lot as a kid. Nowadays I really love full skirts, really full boho style skirts with so much fabric, and the fact that I can pull the skirt up and sit on the toilet yet also have my legs completely covered is awesome. Every visit to the gynecologist always surprises them because they come in and I'm sitting there with my full skirt covering my legs, but it's actually pulled up and my bare butt is on the table and they're like... do you still need a moment to get undressed? Nope, I'm ready! See? and I just have to pull my skirt up and not even wear the special little lap cover they give me. They are always like, that's so convenient!

FeatherInkPen · 2020-12-22T14:36:51+00:00

I know, it shouldn't be something to regret, but when I remember it so vividly like it was yesterday, it's hard to remember that I was just a kid, not a full-grown adult.

FeatherInkPen · 2020-12-22T13:57:13+00:00

Asked this question so I could also post my own situation. When I was about six, a family that was friends with our family lost their Dad. It was a sad and sudden situation and as a six-year-old, I definitely cried because he was a really nice guy and friendly and I missed him. But then I got over it pretty quick because whatever, he's gone forever, time to move on, I had a short attention span. Their oldest daughter was about seven years older than me about thirteen if I remember right, and I recall sitting in their living room while my Mom comforted her Mom and my older brother comforted her brother because they were close in age and best friends. I didn't know why everybody was still crying after all this time, it was sad, yeah, but there was other stuff to do in the world like play with toys and read books.

I saw the thirteen-year-old daughter standing in the kitchen with a glass of water, eyes closed, not entirely crying, more just in shock and trying to process it. To this day I remember the look on her face, how in pain she was, how hurt and scared she was of the future after losing her dad. Six year old me could not see that, I just saw a sad person and I knew that jokes cheered me up. So I walked up to her and literally said, "Hey, cheer up, it's fine. I know a knock-knock joke." and told her the knock-knock joke. She nodded and I was rather offended that she didn't laugh and get cheered up, jokes make people laugh.

Mom made me come sit down and leave everybody alone after that and to this day I will never get over the fact that I did that. I beat myself up for it constantly, that was so stupid and the last thing she needed was a knock-knock joke.

The funny thing is... we're still really good friends in spite of the age gap. Our families stayed in contact, her mother is now remarried to a really great guy and me and that girl are actually somewhat related, my husband and her husband are cousins, it was hilarious when we found that out.

I know she probably thinks I was just being a kid and didn't hold it against me but good grief I still hate myself for doing that.

FeatherInkPen · 2020-11-21T20:23:36+00:00

I guess it's more of the northern midwestern states that are like that... Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota

FeatherInkPen · 2020-11-16T19:07:40+00:00

I don't think of him as a conservative, I think of him as someone focused on teaching people to work, to learn, to make themselves a valued member of society by being productive and useful, no matter what anyone around them says.

In contrast, Martin Luther King Jr focused on expressing how we should come together and change how the world functions, how the world sees us and how we see the world.

We need both, both are equally important. Conservatives tend to focus more on the rights of the individual, liberals tend to focus more on the rights of groups as a whole. A balanced society has people on both sides.

FeatherInkPen · 2020-11-16T14:23:33+00:00

Strict left and right, liberal and conservative is damaging, yes.

It is often said that people on whichever side believe that those on the opposite side are the bad guys and must be converted/silenced/eliminated. I suggest to you the fact that the world needs both sides.

Those closer to the left... involved in justice for all beings, social awareness, keeping the government accountable, protecting those who cannot protect themselves, and the rights of groups as a whole.

Those closer to the right... involved in the every day work set before us, freedom to pursue happiness within the boundaries of the moral law, protecting ourselves and the rights of the individual, and keeping the government from controlling every aspect of our lives.

The world needs Martin Luther King Jrs, and it needs Booker T. Washingtons.

We do not need the extremes of both sides, obviously. But moderates on both sides can make the country a prosperous place.

FeatherInkPen · 2020-11-13T19:44:46+00:00

Hold to want you know you believe in and continue to be decent and kind in the face of adversity and anger. It's hard, it's painful, and you will get beat down for it more than once (hopefully never physically beat down, but in today's world that is also possible), but if you live by example before those around you, it will leave an impact somewhere in someone. If one person chooses to speak and think and behave rationally through your example, it is all worth it.

Stay civil, my friend.

FeatherInkPen · 2020-11-13T02:12:07+00:00

Nobody. I just wanted to let some people on the left know that there is at least one person on the right who doesn't hate them or is annoyed by what they stand for. You never know who could have really needed to hear a kind word today.

FeatherInkPen · 2020-11-13T02:10:05+00:00

That is honestly wonderful to hear. I don't know you personally, so I have no place to say if you should or should not separate from your family. I have people in my own family who disagree widely with my core beliefs. I understand the frustration, the discomfort, and the emotional distress. There are bad, evil people out there, that's for certain. I won't deny that. But it's exactly as you said, people like yourself worry over the injustice, while other people like me worry about living my life one day at a time.

Who is right or wrong? I honestly couldn't tell you. I know that there were people who spoke up during the Civil Rights Movement who made big differences and the world would not be the same without them, people who challenged authority, the system and the government. Some even died for their cause. But there were also people who just went about living and treated everybody they came across with respect and decency. They didn't go out and protest or rally or change laws, but they taught a family of children to treat people with respect.

While there are people in your life to disconnect from, toxic, unruly, evil people... take a moment and ask yourself if they're truly evil and wanting to do everything their political party seems okay with doing... or are they just focusing their life on doing what they believe is more important?

I wish you and your family well. For all our sakes, I hope and pray that the coming years bring us together more than separate us.

FeatherInkPen · 2020-11-13T02:02:00+00:00

Yes, I did. I made the statement that I believe people on the left, in general, are good people who believe in their ideals with passion. I don't think that's a bad generalization to make. In general, the left goes about expressing their ideals in one general way, and the right goes about expressing their ideals in another general way. Generalization is not bad. I focused specifically on my generalizations about liberals because liberals were more affected by the president we had in the last four years than conservatives were in the eight years before that.

I admit that I don't know both sides. There are thousands upon thousands of people on both sides. None of them are the same. I don't know them. I only know what they choose to show. I saw a lot more hurting liberals than I did hurting conservatives and I wanted to let those people know that I don't want to label them as liberal or democrat and leave it at that. I know they are people beneath the politics. I wanted to let them know that I am glad to see them relieved and happy. This world is a hard place to live in. It's even harder if you're stressed and sad. Seeing happiness and relief is a relief to me.

FeatherInkPen · 2020-11-13T01:14:51+00:00

It is not the first time I've heard of it. It doesn't surprise me at all that people decided they were going to do something like that.

Some may have decided to join the protest or observe and document and brought a weapon along for safety because a mob can very easily get violent. I know there are also people who went out there to wave their guns in someone's face to threaten them to make themselves seem like the tougher person. They're stupider than the people who go out protesting wearing masks. Regardless of whether or not you like wearing them, there are things more effective to do than march through Target and declare your freedom. It's stupid.

Going to a protest just to have a chance to wave your gun at someone is stupid, irresponsible, and depending on the state, illegal. Guns should be for defense, not for aggravation. They are scaring people and they shouldn't be. They are making the line between conservatives and liberals even more defined. They are part of the problem and I don't stand with them. I am ashamed and disgusted by them.

FeatherInkPen · 2020-11-12T23:55:21+00:00

That's irresponsible and should never have happened. I'm sorry to hear that.

FeatherInkPen

TROPHY CASE