Acceptance

Acceptance. This is the buzzword everyone seems to be talking about. We hear about how we need to be accepting in our schools, in our jobs, our communities, etc. But what does that word really mean?

According to the Oxford Dictionary, accepting means “The action of consenting to receive or undertake something offered.” The word “undertake” stood out to me. To ” undertake” means to “Commit oneself to and begin”. So when we talk about “accepting people” it really means to commit yourself to that person or group of people when given the chance. That is a big job sometimes. 

A few years ago, I would have identified myself as easily accepting of everyone. Are you part of the LGBT community? Great! Are you of a different race than me? No problem. Are you from a different country? Immerse me in your culture now. Thoughts like that are great and many times authentic. I wish everyone could be that easily accepting.

Now let’s look at my reality.

About two years my only sibling, Sam, told me he was gay. I struggled with that for a long time. The fact that it made me struggle then caused me to be angry at myself. Didn’t I accept everyone, especially my only sister? Don’t I consider myself a liberal person? I kept beating myself up because I was having a hard time accepting who my sister loved. Fast forward a year and several months, and then Sam asked me to start using the pronouns “he/him” when speaking.  Again, a few difficulties a raised. Yet, the thing that bothered me most was that it was hard for me, initially, to be accepting of this transition ( Sam is now identifying as transgender and will be referred to with masculine pronouns). 

After the newness of the he/him pronouns wore off, things got a lot easier for me. I started understanding how important it is to use the pronouns Sam wants. Those pronouns are Sam’s identity and capture how he sees himself and how he wants to be viewed in the world. Those three letter words DO matter.

The thing I learned from these past few years of life experiences is that acceptance is not always easy. The idea of “committing oneself to begin” can be a really challenging thing. It does not matter if accepting looks like using a different pronoun for a family member, or if it looks like talking with someone who has different values than you. Acceptance can be difficult no matter what shape it takes.

What I have gone through in the past few years has opened up my eyes to what it means to genuinely and truly accept. To meet someone right where they are in that moment. Although being committed to an idea or a group of people can be hard, it is not impossible. Acceptance has now become one of my biggest values in life, yet I know it will be a life long journey. Truly being able to accept another human being no matter what happens is also known as another word. Love. 

So, what I am saying is that while it is easy to throw the word around, it is a word that carries strength and empowerment. You often have to work at acceptance and it is not always your first instinct.

So I look around at all the Caitlyn Jenner’s, Laverne Cox’s, and Sam Perez’s of the world and it truly amazes me how courageous and strong they are. Because sometimes the hardest person in the world to accept is yourself…

Ps- Sam you know this already, but I will always love and accept you. No matter what.                                

My Lesson From a Shoe Store

Today concluded my run as an associate at New Balance. I had waited for weeks to see my last day come up on that schedule board. However, now I feel a bit melancholy that it is over. Hence the need for me to write this blog.

I have learned many things during my time at Newbie. However my eyes have been opened to one crucial lesson in particular. My renewed appreciation for my physical health. In the recent months I have fitted shoes for people who had just gotten out of surgery, people with missing limbs, people who must rely on others to drive or even communicate for them, and people who can’t remember their own name. Working with these individuals has pushed me to examine my own health, and how fortunate I am to be young and to be healthy.

One day a women came in with her husband, who was just learning to walk in shoes again after 6 months of rehab. I was there as he took his first steps. His wife turned to me with this ecstatic look in her eyes, and I replied “Sometimes it’s the little things in life.” That must have resonated with her because she nodded silently and repeated that phrase a few more times to herself. That was the day I relearned the joy of walking.

Yes, we all age. Yes, at some point we think about the day when our body will betray us, when we can no longer enjoy physical activity.However, I encourage us all to be as active as we can, whenever we can. I call us to be thankful for the “little things in life”, to glance around once in a while and appreciate our bodies and ourselves.

Musings on Self-Love

Last week I was looking through some old boxes when I stumbled upon one of my journals from middle school. I flipped through a few pages, and amongst the melodramatic friend drama and teenage angst, one entry caught my eye. It was a list of several questions about the future, which were most likely directed to myself when I am old, in a wheelchair, and reminiscing about my youth. The questions were along the lines of “Are you rich?”, ” Are you pretty?”, ” Are you married to Daniel Radcliffe yet?” ( I got a huge kick out of that one.), but the last question I asked of my future self was “Do you like who you are?” Wow. That question has been floating though my mind the last few weeks. I feel that the answer would almost require another round of journal entries that I might look back on in ten years and laugh about all over again. However, that question also lead me to start thinking about the importance of self-love.

Psychologist Carol Jung once said, ” The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.” I agree with this idea, and like everyone else, I have had trouble accepting parts of myself over the course of my young life. However I challenge us to not only “accept” ourselves but to fully and unapologetically LOVE ourselves. Trust me, I understand it not always an easy task. The media is constantly showering us with illusions of “perfect people”, with “perfect” bodies and no flaws in sight. Facebook feeds breed the notion that all of our friends and family are happy and have no cares in the world. How can we possibly begin to embrace ourselves when everyone around us seems to have what we don’t? Well, we all know many people hide behind fake smiles, and we all have things we are not happy with, or don’t like about ourselves. However, I believe when we begin to embrace ourselves head on, it opens us to a whole new understanding of who we are. Self-love and acceptance releases us of the burden of perpetually comparing ourselves to others and always being unhappy with who we are.

As I look through those few questions I asked myself ten years ago, I realize life really is not about how much money you have or how pretty your face looks. A big part of it is looking at yourself and being proud of who you are and who you are striving to be.

So I encourage everyone, to just stop and look in the mirror. I mean really, truly, see yourself. Don’t look at how messy your hair is, or the new pimple forming on your face. Study your reflection and begin to see the person staring back at you. You are beautiful, unique, and need to love yourself despite your flaws. Don’t only accept who you are, but love and appreciate yourself. When you fully love who you are, you will in turn, be able to love others deeper as well, and in the end, not much else matters.

                                         

Thoughts on Giving

I recently visited downtown Chicago to meet up with friend. Prior to getting on the train, I had stopped at CVS and bought 2 large bottles of Gatorade. As I was getting off the train, I realized just how heavy my bag now was. To lighten my load, I decided to give one of the Gatorades away. I walked out of the station and saw a man sitting there with a sign asking for help. I walked over and asked if he wanted my drink, to which he graciously accepted. I walked away feeling good about myself and thought I had done “my good deed” for the day.

Later that night I came home and read an eye-opening article called “Drifting Towards Hope” by Vinh Chung. The article talked about Chung’s life as a refugee and his family’s transformation when they came to the US. In his story, Chung referenced Luke 12:48 . This verse tells us if we are blessed with many opportunities and resources, we are expected to give back that much more. Reading this passage caused me to think back to my “good deed” earlier that day.

Looking back, I realized there are a few things wrong with what I did that morning. One being that I originally only gave my extra Gatorade away so my bag would be lighter, not to help someone else. The second was I simply handed my drink over without really engaging in much conversation with the man. The third thing I realized while reading that article, is that giving the Gatorade away was a good thing to do, but in no way should it be a thing that makes me feel good about myself. It is pretty sad to think I considered giving a drink to someone in need is “good deed”. Yes, it was a nice thing to do. However, it is also something I should be doing on a daily basis. I am so blessed to have the life I have been given. Considering all the resources I have in this world, I should not think twice about giving food and drink away. I should be doing much more giving in my life.

Now, it is easy to create a long list of all the things we “should be doing”. As we all know, it is much harder to put those words into actions. However, going forward, it may help to remember all the recources you have in your life, and that because you are given so much, it is then your job to give back in return. As people who are living with so much “stuff “, shouldn’t it be our job to help those who are living with so little? 

Empathy

So much of the time we think our problems are more stressful than anyone else’s. We tend to concentrate on ourselves and forget to take a look around. You never know what someone is going through and we should be more conscious of the worlds inside others. This commercial reminds us every person we pass or interact with has a story, and as a society we are quick to judge people around us. You never know what someone’s life is really like, and this ad encourages us to keep an open mind, and to have empathy and compassion for everyone we meet.

 

Life Can Be a Bully-Fight Back

Life can be a bully. It pushes you down and holds you there until you’re gasping for air and throwing your hands up in surrender. Life can also be a traitor. It allows us to feel as if we are in control, and right when we think everything will be okay, it takes us and flips our world upside down. The beauty of this however, is that life can also be a redeemer, a teacher, and a muse. No one has life figured out. We cannot control it, no matter how bad we want to. But there is also power in the human spirit. We have drive, strength, and the will to fight right back when life gets hard. As humans, we are constantly pushing back and trying to end up on top. Although we might not always win, there is beauty in the struggle, and often it is in this pain that we truly discover who we are. Don’t ever give up on life, no matter how hard it gets. Have the will to fight and push on.

Wake Up Calls

Last week I heard a sermon about the alarm clock of our life. Alarms are a warning. A sign that we need to be alert and ready for action. However, many times our alarm goes off and we press snooze. We decide we do not want to deal with the problem, and want to continue on autopilot for a bit longer. However after a while, we become use to the alarms and no longer  notice when they go off. When this happens, we are likely to miss the signal all together. This message got me thinking. How many alarms have I ignored in the last year? How many times in the last month or week have I made the choice to press “snooze”? For me, I ignore alarms more often than I care to admit. However, in the last five months, I have experienced so many alarms it has become too loud to ignore the sound. It is time for me to wake up, to start responding. We never know when our lives will end. It could be in 60 years or it could be in an hour. All I know, is that it is time to react. Time to get up and answer the calls we have been missing.

Restless

Restlessness. This is a word we can all identify with at some point or another. Restlessness is what I have been feeling over the last three months. I want to pack up and go. Go to a beach, a city, an open field-I want to go anywhere. I have not been able to put these emotions into words until I saw Jeep’s “Restless” commercial during the super bowl. I felt a light go off when I heard ” stillness is what actually kills us”. These last few months God has challenged me in ways that I never saw coming. Initially I was just wallowing in my hurt and confusion. However, this commercial speaks to the idea that we do not need to have everything figured out to move and act. A “little blue sky time” could do a lot of good. I have realized I do not need to have some grand plan of action in order to keep up with the world. If the walls are closing in- I just need to climb out. I just need to move.

Social Media Policy- Kodak

Kodak’s social media policy is interesting because it  is generalized so other businesses can use it as well. Kodak is willing to share their policy with everyone and encourages other organizations to use it as a model. For example, in the document heading it says, “We developed a social media policy for Kodak employees that you might find helpful for your organization.” So Kodak is open and willing to share their ideas.

Kodak’s social media policy is part of a larger document called “Social Media Tips”. It includes general facts and information on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Blogs. It also includes a section on Social Media Tips from the Chief Blogger for Kodak and lists additional social tips and media tactics.

Their social media policy is organized by steps to “Maintaining a good reputation-yours and Kodak’s”. The policy lists 10 rules and gives details under each. For example, rule number one is “live the Kodak values”. Under this rule, they expand by stating “always express ideas and opinions in a respectful manner, be sensitive about linking to content, make sure your communications are in good taste, and do not denigrate or insult others, including competitors.” This basic structure is easy to read and understand which is crucial if people are to follow the rules of the company.

Although Kodak created this document so it could be shared amongst many different types of businesses, some sections are far too general. For example, their rule about “keeping your cool” is not as detailed as it should be. Kodak says not everyone will agree on what it said on their Facebook or Twitter accounts. However, employees should not pick fights, but should correct mistakes when needed. They also say it may also be best to “ignore a comment and not give it credibility by acknowledging it with a response.” These guidelines are good, but situations on social media are not always that cut and dry. How does one choose what comments should be ignored and which should be answered. Examples on how a complaint should be addressed might be helpful this section of the policy also. Additionally, when talking about posting other people’s pictures, the rules simply say “obtain permission before posting pictures of others, or before posting copyrighted information.” Since this business surrounds pictures, whether they are Kodak’s or consumers’, there should be a more detailed policy on how to post pictures and all the information need to credit the pictures origins. Thus, for this social media policy, I suggest Kodak to be more specific in some of these rules.

Social media policies should be a vital part of a company’s policy. Social media is such a huge part of companies, and it can be difficult to make sure everyone is following the same rules and regulations. These policies are there to make sure that everyone is on the same page and informed of the same guidelines.

Case Study #1 Whole Foods Market On Pintrest

The first Whole Foods Market was opened in 1980 in Austin Texas. It began with a staff of only 19 people, however it has since expanded and Whole Foods can be found all of the United States and in the United Kingdom. Whole Foods’ mission is about sustainability, organic farming, fair trade and caring for the community. Whole Foods is very community and people oriented, so it only makes sense that they can be found on many social media channels as well. They have accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Pintrest, Instagram and Youtube.

Whole Foods is active and engaging on all of these platforms, however their Pintrest account is most intriguing to me. I am not the only one who is attracted to their 53 boards and 1,825 pins. Whole Foodsf has 118,000 other followers and are widely talked about on various blogs and articles. For example, Mashable praises Whole Foods’ activity on Pintrest and says they ” communicate the lifestyle that the Whole Foods team aspires to…”. Not only do they display bright colors and tasty looking food, but they also have boards titled ” How Does Your Garden Grow” and “Kids: Move That Body”. Whole foods promotes a healthy lifestyle whether that is eating healthy, growing your own food or just getting some excercise. Shown below are all 53 boards on their account. 

According to Anna Washenko on Sprout Social, Whole Foods is setting an example for all other brands on Pintrest. One of the things Whole Foods does well according to this article is that they  stay engaged with their followers. This is one of the reasons I was attracted to this platform. They are constantly repinning and uploading new pins for their consumeers to enjoy. This tells me they really want their fans to stay engaged with them on Pintrest. I also noticed that Whole Foods will comment on some replies on various pins. An example of this is shown below. One consumer found that the link to a pin was not working, and Whole Foods responding saying they will work on getting it fixed. This shows consumers that the brand cares about them and wants to give them the best experience on Pintrest that they can provide.

PR Daily also praised Whole Foods for their activity on Pintrest. This article addresses Whole Foods’ global community manager, Michael Aaron Bepko and his thoughts about Pintrest. One of the tings Bepko mentions  is how Pintrest is great for outreach and metions their “Why Austin board.” Prior to reading this artcile, the whe “Why Austin” board caught my eye as well. This board talks about all the great things Austin has to offer. According to this board, Austin has great music, food, attractions and an overall great environment. I thought this was a great way to promote the city Whole Foods was founded in. It gives consumers an insight into life in Austin and all that it has to offer. It gives the impression that Austin is an active, healthy and beautiful place, whose values are not far off from the values of the brand itself. I thought it was very clever to make a board to promote this city. It shows that Whole Foods cares about the community it started in and is encouraging their consumers to visit this wonderful place.

Overall, I am impressed with the number of pins and board they have. Although they do have a variety of boards, each one is relevant to the average Whole Foods Consumer. The brand is staying true to their mission  by endorsing healthy and sustainable living, while also providing an enjoyable and interactive atmosphere for their followers. Through their presence on Pintrest, followers are able to get an even better look into the brand and are able to see they are dedicated to their mission and want to interact with follower and consumers as best as they can. That being said, Whole Foods knows their auidence and knows whats types of things attract them. This is a key part of success in social media and Whole Foods does it well. They are able to attract their consumers in unqiue ways and do not just talk about food, but can draw them in through the lifestyle that surrounds Whole Foods itself.

From doing this case study, I realized just how important consistency is. It can be hard to have the same tone of voice and themes between all a brand’s account on social media, but Whole Foods makes it look easy. They never stray from their mission and values which only gives them more credibility as a brand looking out for the world and communities around them.