About a month ago I had the pleasure of speaking with Meighan O’Toole for her podcast, What’s Your Story. We spoke quite a lot about feeling like a freak for any number of reasons, often in the context of various experiences I had with jobs, including those related to CrochetMe.com and Interweave Crochet. And obviously, we talked about the book. And for the first (only) time in my life, Meighan quoted me to me, which was both unsettling and lovely. Have a listen, eh? If you enjoy it, give it a heart over on SoundCloud or a rating on iTunes – those make Meighan super happy, as they should.
Meighan is giving away two copies of Make It Mighty Ugly over on Instagram – check out her post for simple instructions on how to enter. (If you aren’t on Instagram, perhaps this will be the thing to nudge you to join. It’s wormed its way deep into my heart, such that I now consider it equal to Twitter in the joy I derive from it and in how tremendously useful it is for work. Follow me there, eh?)
Oh, one more thing about the podcast. We talked about how problematic I find it when people attribute their successes to luck, and we briefly – too briefly – touch on the topic of privilege. Privilege is certainly a factor of luck, and it’s an important thing to consider when assessing one’s particular circumstances. I’ve become quite comfortable taking credit for my successes while also acknowledging the factors I have no control over, but I also experience all things in my life through the prism of some pretty undeniable privilege. I’m a straight white woman from a middle-class background who lives in a country with guaranteed healthcare. Each of these factors – and countless others, to be sure – contributes to the kinds of opportunities I’m presented with and to my ability to seize them. It’s important to think about this, because when I say things like, don’t attribute your successes to luck – you’ve earned them, I say it knowing that some people really do have more luck than others; more importantly, some people have considerably less luck.